WRKY transcription factors and methods of use

ABSTRACT

The invention provides isolated WRKY nucleic acids and their encoded proteins. The present invention provides methods and compositions relating to altering WRKY concentration and/or composition of plants. The present invention also relates to transcriptional regulatory regions of WRKY polynucleotides and their use to regulate heterologous gene expression. The invention further provides recombinant expression cassettes, host cells, and transgenic plants.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/190,950, filed Mar. 21, 2000, which is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Plant disease outbreaks have resulted in catastrophic crop failures that have triggered famines and caused major social change. Generally, the best strategy for plant disease control is to use resistant cultivars selected or developed by plant breeders for this purpose. However, the potential for serious crop disease epidemics persists today, as evidenced by outbreaks of the Victoria blight of oats and southern corn leaf blight. Accordingly, molecular methods are needed to supplement traditional breeding methods to protect plants from pathogen attack.

[0003] A host of cellular processes enables plants to defend themselves from disease caused by pathogenic agents. These processes apparently form an integrated set of resistance mechanisms that is activated by initial infection and then limits further spread of the invading pathogenic microorganism.

[0004] WRKY proteins are a family of plant-specific zinc-finger-type factors implicated in the regulation of genes associated with a plant's response to a pathogen or stress, such as wounding. In addition, WRKY proteins have been implicated in senescence, trichome development and the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. In parsley, WRKY proteins have been found to bind specifically to functionally defined TGAC-containing W box promoter elements within the Pathogenesis-Related Class 10 (PR-10) genes. The WRKY proteins in parsley are rapidly and locally activated in leaf tissue around the infection site of a pathogen. Transient expression studies in parsley protoplasts showed that a specific arrangement of W box elements in the WRKY1 promoter itself is necessary and sufficient for early activation and that WRKY1 binds to such elements (Rushton, et al., EMBO Journal, 15(2):5690-5700 (1996)).

[0005] WRKY proteins have been classified into three groups. Group I typically has two WRKY domains of a unique zinc-finger-like motif. Group II typically has only one WRKY domain. Group III has one WRKY domain but instead of the C₂-H₂ motif found in Groups I and II, the WRKY domain in Group III has a C₂-HC motif.

[0006] The present invention discloses WRKY polynucleotides from sunflower, maize, rice, wheat and soybean. WRKY polynucleotides may be used to engineer plants to resist pathogens and to survive stress. In addition, WRKY cDNA clones and DNA segments of genomic DNA, and their homologs and derivatives, may be used as molecular probes to track inheritance of corresponding loci in genetic crosses, and thus facilitate the plant breeding process. Moreover, these DNA sequences may also be used as probes to isolate, identify and genetically map WRKY and other closely related disease resistance genes. Further the polynucleotides of the present invention, either as a full-length or a sub-sequence, could be used to find genes and their promoters that respond to a WRKY domain.

[0007] The present invention also discloses a transcriptional regulatory region sequence from a sunflower WRKY gene, which can induce expression of a gene of interest during pathogen infection or in the presence of oxalic acid or salicylic acid. Gene expression encompasses a number of steps from DNA template to the final protein or protein product. Initiation of transcription of a gene is generally understood to be the predominant controlling factor in determining expression of a gene.

[0008] Controlling the expression of agronomic genes in transgenic plants is considered by those skilled in the art to provide several advantages over generalized or constitutive expression. The ability to control gene expression may be utilized to time expression for when a pathogen attacks a plant thus avoiding certain regulatory and commercial issues. A pathogen or chemically-inducible promoter can reduce potential yield loss by limiting expression of some pernicious, yet useful agronomic genes to only when it is needed. Further advantages of utilizing promoters that function in an inducible manner include reduced resource drain on the plant in making a gene product constitutively. Said gene products may include general toxin degradative genes such as oxalate oxidase or other disease resistance genes. There is a need in the art for novel promoters capable of driving pathogen or chemical-inducible gene expression in plants. It is considered important by those skilled in the art to continue to provide pathogen or chemical-inducible transcriptional regulatory regions capable of driving expression of genes that may confer a selective advantage to a plant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Generally, it is the object of the present invention to provide nucleic acids and proteins relating to WRKY. It is an object of the present invention to provide transgenic plants comprising the nucleic acids of the present invention. It is another object of the present invention to provide methods for modulating, in a transgenic plant, the expression of the nucleic acids of the present invention.

[0010] Therefore, in one aspect, the present invention relates to an isolated nucleic acid comprising a member selected from the group consisting of (a) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the present invention; (b) a polynucleotide having at least 75 or 80% sequence identity to the polynucleotides of the present invention; (c) a polynucleotide that hybridizes under high stringency conditions to the polynucleotides of the present invention; and (d) a polynucleotide complementary to a polynucleotide of (a) through (c). The isolated nucleic acid can be DNA. The isolated nucleic acid can also be RNA.

[0011] In another aspect, the present invention relates to vectors comprising the polynucleotides of the present invention. Also the present invention relates to recombinant expression cassettes, comprising a nucleic acid of the present invention operably linked to a promoter.

[0012] In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a host cell into which has been introduced the recombinant expression cassette.

[0013] In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to a transgenic plant or plant cell comprising a recombinant expression cassette with a promoter operably linked to any of the isolated nucleic acids of the present invention. Preferred plants containing the recombinant expression cassette of the present invention include but are not limited to maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice barley, and millet. The present invention also provides transgenic seed from the transgenic plant.

[0014] In another aspect, the present invention relates to an isolated protein selected from the group consisting of (a) a polypeptide comprising at least 40 or 50 contiguous amino acids of a polypeptide of the present invention; (b) a polypeptide comprising at least 75 or 80% sequence identity to a polypeptide of the present invention; (c) a polypeptide encoded by a nucleic acid of the present invention; and (d) a polypeptide characterized by a polypeptide of the present invention.

[0015] In a further aspect, the present invention relates to a method of modulating the level of protein in a plant by introducing into a plant cell a recombinant expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention operably linked to a promoter; culturing the plant cell under plant growing conditions to produce a regenerated plant; and inducing expression of the polynucleotide for a time sufficient to modulate the protein of the present invention in the plant. Preferred plants of the present invention include but are not limited to maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice, barley, and millet. The level of protein in the plant can either be increased or decreased.

[0016] In addition, the present invention provides a transcriptional regulatory region capable of directing pathogen or chemical-induced gene expression. Further, the present invention provides for plants, plant cells, and seeds from the plant containing the transcriptional regulatory region. The present invention also provides for a method of expressing a heterologous nucleic acid during pathogen infection or upon chemical induction with the transcriptional regulatory region of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEQUENCE DESCRIPTIONS

[0017] The following sequence descriptions and sequence listings attached hereto comply with the rules governing nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence disclosures in patent applications as set forth in 37 C.F.R. §1.821-1.825.

[0018] SEQ ID NO: 1 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the maize ZmWRKY3-1 polynucleotide.

[0019] SEQ ID NO: 2 is the amino acid sequence of a maize ZmWRKY3-1 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 1.

[0020] SEQ ID NOS: 3-8 are primer sequences used to isolate the sunflower WRKY polynucleotides.

[0021] SEQ ID NO: 9 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the sunflower SWRKY1-1 polynucleotide.

[0022] SEQ ID NO: 10 is the amino acid sequence of a sunflower SWRKY1-1 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 9.

[0023] SEQ ID NO: 11 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the sunflower SWRKY1-2 polynucleotide.

[0024] SEQ ID NO: 12 is the amino acid sequence of a sunflower SWRKY1-2 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 11.

[0025] SEQ ID NO: 13 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the sunflower SWRKY1-3 polynucleotide.

[0026] SEQ ID NO: 14 is the amino acid sequence of a sunflower SWRKY1-3 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 13.

[0027] SEQ ID NO: 15 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the sunflower S WRKY1-4 polynucleotide.

[0028] SEQ ID NO: 16 is the amino acid sequence of a sunflower SWRKY1-4 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 15.

[0029] SEQ ID NO: 17 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the rice WRKY1 polynucleotide.

[0030] SEQ ID NO: 18 is the amino acid sequence of a rice WRKY1 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 17.

[0031] SEQ ID NO: 19 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the rice WRKY3 polynucleotide.

[0032] SEQ ID NO: 20 is the amino acid sequence of a rice WRKY3 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 19.

[0033] SEQ ID NO: 21 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the soybean WRKY1 polynucleotide.

[0034] SEQ ID NO: 22 is the amino acid sequence of a soybean WRKY1 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 21.

[0035] SEQ ID NO: 23 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the soybean WRKY2 polynucleotide.

[0036] SEQ ID NO: 24 is the amino acid sequence of a soybean WRKY2 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 23.

[0037] SEQ ID NO: 25 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the soybean WRKY3 polynucleotide.

[0038] SEQ ID NO: 26 is the amino acid sequence of a soybean WRKY3 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 25.

[0039] SEQ ID NO: 27 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the wheat WRKY2 polynucleotide.

[0040] SEQ ID NO: 28 is the amino acid sequence of a wheat WRKY2 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 27.

[0041] SEQ ID NO: 29 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the wheat WRKY3 polynucleotide.

[0042] SEQ ID NO: 30 is the amino acid sequence of a wheat WRKY3 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 29.

[0043] SEQ ID NO: 31 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the maize WRKY2-1 polynucleotide.

[0044] SEQ ID NO: 32 is the amino acid sequence of a maize WRKY2-1 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 31.

[0045] SEQ ID NO: 33 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the maize WRKY3-2 polynucleotide.

[0046] SEQ ID NO: 34 is the amino acid sequence of a maize WRKY3-2 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 33.

[0047] SEQ ID NO: 35 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the transcriptional regulatory region of a sunflower WRKY1-2 polynucleotide.

[0048] SEQ ID NO: 36 is a designed oligonucleotide based upon the adapter sequence and poly T to remove clones which have a poly A tail but no cDNA.

[0049] SEQ ID NO: 37 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the maize ZmWRKY1-1 polynucleotide.

[0050] SEQ ID NO: 38 is the amino acid sequence of the maize ZmWRKY1-1 protein derived from the nucleotide sequence of SEQ ID NO: 37.

[0051] SEQ ID NO: 39 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the maize ZmWRKY1-2 polynucleotide.

[0052] SEQ ID NO: 40 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the maize ZmWRKY2-2 polynucleotide.

[0053] SEQ ID NO: 41 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the maize ZmWRKY3-3 polynucleotide.

[0054] SEQ ID NO: 42 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the maize ZmWRKY3-4 polynucleotide.

[0055] SEQ ID NO: 43 is the nucleotide sequence comprising the maize ZmWRKY3-5 polynucleotide.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0056] Overview

[0057] The present invention provides, among other things, compositions and methods for modulating (i.e., increasing or decreasing) the level of polynucleotides and polypeptides of the present invention in plants. In particular, the polynucleotides and polypeptides of the present invention can be expressed temporally or spatially, e.g., at developmental stages, in tissues, and/or in quantities, which are uncharacteristic of non-recombinantly engineered plants. The transcriptional regulatory region of a WRKY polynucleotide, such as the sunflower WRKY1-2 polynucleotide (SEQ ID NO: 35), can be used to drive expression of a gene of interest during pathogen infection or by chemical induction. Thus, the present invention provides utility in such exemplary applications as disease resistance.

[0058] The present invention also provides isolated nucleic acid comprising polynucleotides of sufficient length and complementarity to a gene of the present invention to use as probes or amplification primers in the detection, quantitation, or isolation of gene transcripts. For example, isolated nucleic acids of the present invention can be used as probes in detecting deficiencies in the level of mRNA in screenings for desired transgenic plants, for detecting mutations in the gene (e.g., substitutions, deletions, or additions), for monitoring upregulation of expression or changes in enzyme activity in screening assays of compounds, for detection of any number of allelic variants (polymorphisms), orthologs, or paralogs of the gene, or for site directed mutagenesis in eukaryotic cells (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,350). The isolated nucleic acids of the present invention can also be used for recombinant expression of their encoded polypeptides, or for use as immunogens in the preparation and/or screening of antibodies. The isolated nucleic acids of the present invention can also be employed for use in sense or antisense suppression of one or more genes of the present invention in a host cell, tissue, or plant. Attachment of chemical agents, which bind, intercalate, cleave and/or crosslink to the isolated nucleic acids of the present invention can also be used to modulate transcription or translation. In addition, the present invention relates to finding genes and promoters that respond to WRKY domains. The full-length sequence of WRKY or a subsequence of WRKY could be used alone or fused to additional sequence to determine genes and promoter that respond to WRKY domains. The present invention also provides isolated proteins comprising a polypeptide of the present invention (e.g., preproenzyme, proenzyme, or enzymes).

[0059] The isolated nucleic acids and proteins of the present invention can be used over a broad range of plant types, particularly monocots such as the species of the family Gramineae including Sorghum (e.g. S. bicolor), Oryza, Avena, Hordeum, Secale, Triticum and Zea mays, and dicots such as Glycine. The isolated nucleic acid and proteins of the present invention can also be used in species from the genera: Cucurbita, Rosa, Vitis, Juglans, Fragaria, Lotus, Medicago, Onobrychis, Trifolium, Trigonella, Vigna, Citrus, Linum, Geranium, Manihot, Daucus, Arabidopsis, Brassica, Raphanus, Sinapis, Atropa, Capsicum, Datura, Hyoscyamus, Lycopersicon, Nicotiana, Solanum, Petunia, Digitalis, Majorana, Ciahorium, Helianthus, Lactuca, Bromus, Asparagus, Antirrhinum, Heterocallis, Nemesis, Pelargonium, Panieum, Pennisetum, Ranunculus, Senecio, Salpiglossis, Cucumis, Browaalia, Pisum, Phaseolus, Lolium, and Allium.

[0060] Pathogens of the invention include, but are not limited to, viruses or viroids, bacteria, insects, fungi, and the like. Viruses include tobacco or cucumber mosaic virus, ringspot virus, necrosis virus, maize dwarf mosaic virus, etc. Specific fungal and viral pathogens for the major crops include: Soybeans: Phytophthora megasperma fsp. glycinea, Macrophomina phaseolina, Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Fusarium oxysporum, Diaporthe phaseolorum var. sojae (Phomopsis sojae), Diaporthe phaseolorum var. caulivora, Sclerotium rolfsii, Cercospora kikuchii, Cercospora sojina, Peronospora manshurica, Colletotrichum dematium (Colletotichum truncatum), Corynespora cassiicola, Septoria glycines, Phyllosticta sojicola, Alternaria alternata, Pseudomonas syringae p.v. glycinea, Xanthomonas campestris p.v. phaseoli, Microsphaera diffusa, Fusarium semitectum, Phialophora gregata, Soybean mosaic virus, Glomerella glycines, Tobacco Ring spot virus, Tobacco Streak virus, Phakopsora pachyrhizi, Pythium aphanidermatum, Pythium ultimum, Pythium debaryanum, Tomato spotted wilt virus, Heterodera glycines, Fusarium solani; Canola: Albugo candida, Alternaria brassicae, Leptosphaeria maculans, Rhizoctonia solani, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Mycosphaerella brassiccola, Pythium ultimum, Peronospora parasitica, Fusarium roseum, Alternaria alternata; Alfalfa: Clavibater michiganese subsp. insidiosum, Pythium ultimum, Pythium irregulare, Pythium splendens, Pythium debaryanum, Pythium aphanidermatum, Phytophthora megasperma, Peronospora trifoliorum, Phoma medicaginis var. medicaginis, Cercospora medicaginis, Pseudopeziza medicaginis, Leptotrochila medicaginis, Fusar-atrum, Xanthomonas campestris p.v. alfalfae, Aphanomyces euteiches, Stemphylium herbarum, Stemphylium alfalfae; Wheat: Pseudomonas syringae p.v. atrofaciens, Urocystis agropyri, Xanthomonas campestris p.v. translucens, Pseudomonas syringae p.v. syringae, Alternaria alternata, Cladosporium herbarum, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium avenaceum, Fusarium culmorum, Ustilago tritici, Ascochyta tritici, Cephalosporium gramineum, Collotetrichum graminicola, Erysiphe graminis f.sp. tritici, Puccinia graminis f.sp. tritici, Puccinia recondita f.sp. tritici, Puccinia striiformis, Pyrenophora triticirepentis, Septoria nodorum, Septoria tritici, Septoria avenae, Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides, Rhizoctonia solani, Rhizoctonia cerealis, Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, Pythium aphanidermatum, Pythium arrhenomanes, Pythium ultimum, Bipolaris sorokiniana, Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus, Brome Mosaic Virus, Soil Borne Wheat Mosaic Virus, Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus, Wheat Spindle Streak Virus, American Wheat Striate Virus, Claviceps purpurea, Tilletia tritici, Tilletia laevis, Ustilago tritici, Tilletia indica, Rhizoctonia solani, Pythium arrhenomannes, Pythium gramicola, Pythium aphanidermatum, High Plains Virus, European wheat striate virus; Sunflower: Plasmophora halstedii, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Aster Yellows, Septoria helianthi, Phomopsis helianthi, Alternaria helianthi, Alternaria zinniae, Botrytis cinerea, Phoma macdonaldii, Macrophominaphaseolina, Erysiphe cichoracearum, Rhizopus oryzae, Rhizopus arrhizus, Rhizopus stolonifer, Puccinia helianthi, Verticillium dahliae, Erwinia carotovorum p.v. Carotovora, Cephalosporium acremonium, Phytophthora cryptogea, Albugo tragopogonis; Maize: Fusarium moniliforme var. subglutinans, Erwinia stewartii, Fusarium moniliforme, Gibberella zeae (Fusarium graminearum), Stenocarpella maydi (Diplodia maydis), Pythium irregulare, Pythium debaryanum, Pythium graminicola, Pythium splendens, Pythium ultimum, Pythium aphanidermatum, Aspergillusflavus, Bipolaris maydis O,T (Cochliobolus heterostrophus), Helminthosporium carbonum I, II & III (Cochliobolus carbonum), Exserohilum turcicum I, II & III, Helminthosporium pedicellatum, Physoderma maydis, Phyllosticta maydis, Kabatie-maydis, Cercospora sorghi, Ustilago maydis, Puccinia sorghi, Puccinia polysora, Macrophomina phaseolina, Penicillium oxalicum, Nigrospora oryzae, Cladosporium herbarum, Curvularia lunata, Curvularia inaequalis, Curvularia pallescens, Clavibacter michiganese subsp. nebraskense, Trichoderma viride, Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus A & B, Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus, Maize Chlorotic Dwarf Virus, Claviceps sorghi, Pseudonomas avenae, Erwinia chrysanthemi p.v. Zea, Erwinia corotovora, Cornstunt spiroplasma, Diplodia macrospora, Sclerophthora macrospora, Peronosclerospora sorghi, Peronosclerospora philippinesis, Peronosclerospora maydis, Peronosclerospora sacchari, Spacelotheca reiliana, Physopella zea, Cephalosporium maydis, Caphalosporium acremonium, Maize Chlorotic Mottle Virus, High Plains Virus, Maize Mosaic Virus, Maize Rayado Fino Virus, Maize Streak Virus, Maize Stripe Virus, Maize Rough Dwarf Virus; Sorghum: Exserohilum turcicum, Colletotrichum graminicola (Glomerella graminicola), Cercospora sorghi, Gloeocercospora sorghi, Ascochyta sorghina, Pseudomonas syringae p.v. syringae, Xanthomonas campestris p.v. holcicola Pseudomonas andropogonis, Puccinia purpurea, Macrophomina phaseolina, Perconia circinata, Fusarium moniliforme, Alternaria alternate, Bipolaris sorghicola, Helminthosporium sorghicola, Curvularia lunata, Phoma insidiosa, Pseudomonas avenae (Pseudomonas alboprecipitans), Ramulispora sorghi, Ramulispora sorghicola, Phyllachara sacchari, Sporisorium reilianum (Sphacelotheca reiliana), Sphacelotheca cruenta, Sporisorium sorghi, Sugarcane mosaic H, Maize Dwarf Mosaic Virus A & B, Claviceps sorghi, Rhizoctonia solani, Acremonium strictum, Sclerophthona macrospora, Peronosclerospora sorghi, Peronosclerospora philippinensis, Sclerospora graminicola, Fusarium graminearum, Fusarium oxysporum, Pythium arrhenomanes, Pythium graminicola, etc.

[0061] Assays that measure antipathogenic activity are commonly known in the art, as are methods to quantify disease resistance in plants following pathogen infection. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,614,395, herein incorporated by reference. Such techniques include, measuring over time, the average lesion diameter, the pathogen biomass, and the overall percentage of decayed plant tissues. For example, a plant either expressing an antipathogenic polypeptide or having an antipathogenic composition applied to its surface shows a decrease in tissue necrosis (i.e., lesion diameter) or a decrease in plant death following pathogen challenge when compared to a control plant that was not exposed to the antipathogenic composition. Alternatively, antipathogenic activity can be measured by a decrease in pathogen biomass. For example, a plant expressing an antipathogenic polypeptide or exposed to an antipathogenic composition is challenged with a pathogen of interest. Over time, tissue samples from the pathogen-inoculated tissues are obtained and RNA is extracted. The percent of a specific pathogen RNA transcript relative to the level of a plant specific transcript allows the level of pathogen biomass to be determined. See, for example, Thomma et al. (1998) Plant Biology 95:15107-15111, herein incorporated by reference.

[0062] Furthermore, in vitro antipathogenic assays include, for example, the addition of varying concentrations of the antipathogenic composition to paper disks and placing the disks on agar containing a suspension of the pathogen of interest. Following incubation, clear inhibition zones develop around the discs that contain an effective concentration of the antipathogenic polypeptide (Liu et al. (1994) Plant Biology 91:1888-1892, herein incorporated by reference). Additionally, microspectrophotometrical analysis can be used to measure the in vitro antipathogenic properties of a composition (Hu et al. (1997) Plant Mol. Biol. 34:949-959 and Cammue et al. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267: 2228-2233, both of which are herein incorporated by reference).

[0063] Plasmids containing the polynucleotide sequences of the invention were deposited with American Type Culture Collection (ATCC), Manassas, Va., and assigned the following Patent Deposit Designation numbers: for maize ZmWRKY3-1 the designation is PTA-1590; for SWRKY1-1 the designation is PTA-1510, for SWRKY1-2 the designation is PTA-1504, for SWRKY1-3 the designation is PTA-1511, for SWRKY1-4 the designation is PTA-1509, and for the 5′ regulatory region of WRKY1-2 the designation is PTA-1505. These deposits will be maintained under the terms of the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure. These deposits were made merely as a convenience for those of skill in the art and are not an admission that a deposit is required under 35 U.S.C. § 112.

[0064] Definitions

[0065] Units, prefixes, and symbols may be denoted in their SI accepted form. Unless otherwise indicated, nucleic acids are written left to right in 5′ to 3′ orientation, amino acid sequences are written left to right in amino to carboxy orientation, respectively. Numeric ranges are inclusive of the numbers defining the range and include each integer within the defined range. Amino acids may be referred to herein by either their commonly known three letter symbols or by the one-letter symbols recommended by the IUPAC-IUB Biochemical Nomenclature Commission. Nucleotides, likewise, may be referred to by their commonly accepted single-letter codes. The terms defined below are more fully defined by reference to the specification as a whole.

[0066] By “amplified” is meant the construction of multiple copies of a nucleic acid sequence or multiple copies complementary to the nucleic acid sequence using at least one of the nucleic acid sequences as a template. Amplification systems include the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system, ligase chain reaction (LCR) system, nucleic acid sequence based amplification (NASBA, Cangene, Mississauga, Ontario), Q-Beta Replicase systems, transcription-based amplification system (TAS), and strand displacement amplification (SDA). See, e.g., Diagnostic Molecular Microbiology: Principles and Applications, D H Persing et al., Ed., American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C. (1993). The product of amplification is termed an amplicon.

[0067] As used herein, “antisense orientation” includes reference to a duplex polynucleotide sequence, which is operably linked to a promoter in an orientation where the antisense strand is transcribed. The antisense strand is sufficiently complementary to an endogenous transcription product such that translation of the endogenous transcription product is often inhibited.

[0068] By “encoding” or “encoded”, with respect to a specified nucleic acid, is meant comprising the information for translation into the specified protein. A nucleic acid encoding a protein may comprise non-translated sequences (e.g., introns) within translated regions of the nucleic acid, or may lack such intervening non-translated sequences (e.g., as in cDNA). The information by which a protein is encoded is specified by the use of codons. Typically, the amino acid sequence is encoded by the nucleic acid using the “universal” genetic code. However, variants of the universal code, such as are present in some plant, animal, and fingal mitochondria, the bacterium Mycoplasma capricolum, or the ciliate Macronucleus, may be used when the nucleic acid is expressed therein.

[0069] When the nucleic acid is prepared or altered synthetically, advantage can be taken of known codon preferences of the intended host where the nucleic acid is to be expressed. For example, although nucleic acid sequences of the present invention may be expressed in both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plant species, sequences can be modified to account for the specific codon preferences and GC content preferences of monocotyledons or dicotyledons as these preferences have been shown to differ (Murray et al. Nucl. Acids Res. 17:477-498 (1989)). Thus, the maize preferred codon for a particular amino acid might be derived from known gene sequences from maize. Maize codon usage for 28 genes from maize plants is listed in Table 4 of Murray et al., supra.

[0070] As used herein, “heterologous” in reference to a nucleic acid is a nucleic acid that originates from a foreign species, or, if from the same species, is substantially modified from its native form in composition and/or genomic locus by deliberate human intervention. For example, a promoter operably linked to a heterologous structural gene is from a species different from that from which the structural gene was derived, or, if from the same species, one or both are substantially modified from their original form. A heterologous protein may originate from a foreign species, or, if from the same species, is substantially modified from its original form by deliberate human intervention.

[0071] By “host cell” is meant a cell, which contains a vector and supports the replication and/or expression of the vector. Host cells may be prokaryotic cells such as E. coli, or eukaryotic cells such as yeast, insect, amphibian, or mammalian cells. Preferably, host cells are monocotyledonous or dicotyledonous plant cells. A particularly preferred monocotyledonous host cell is a maize host cell.

[0072] The term “introduced” in the context of inserting a nucleic acid into a cell, means “transfection” or “transformation” or “transduction” and includes reference to the incorporation of a nucleic acid into a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell where the nucleic acid may be incorporated into the genome of the cell (e.g., chromosome, plasmid, plastid or mitochondrial DNA), converted into an autonomous replicon, or transiently expressed (e.g., transfected mRNA).

[0073] The terms “isolated” refers to material, such as a nucleic acid or a protein, which is: (1) substantially or essentially free from components that normally accompany or interact with it as found in its naturally occurring environment. The isolated material optionally comprises material not found with the material in its natural environment; or (2) if the material is in its natural environment, the material has been synthetically (non-naturally) altered by deliberate human intervention to a composition and/or placed at a location in the cell (e.g., genome or subcellular organelle) not native to a material found in that environment. The alteration to yield the synthetic material can be performed on the material within or removed from its natural state. For example, a naturally occurring nucleic acid becomes an isolated nucleic acid if it is altered, or if it is transcribed from DNA which has been altered, by means of human intervention performed within the cell from which it originates. See, e.g., Compounds and Methods for Site Directed Mutagenesis in Eukaryotic Cells, Kmiec, U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,350; In Vivo Homologous Sequence Targeting in Eukaryotic Cells; Zarling et al., PCT/US93/03868. Likewise, a naturally occurring nucleic acid (e.g., a promoter) becomes isolated if it is introduced by non-naturally occurring means to a locus of the genome not native to that nucleic acid. Nucleic acids, which are “isolated”, as defined herein, are also referred to as “heterologous” nucleic acids.

[0074] As used herein, “nucleic acid” includes reference to a deoxyribonucleotide or ribonucleotide polymer in either single- or double-stranded form, and unless otherwise limited, encompasses known analogues having the essential nature of natural nucleotides in that they hybridize to single-stranded nucleic acids in a manner similar to naturally occurring nucleotides (e.g., peptide nucleic acids).

[0075] By “nucleic acid library” is meant a collection of isolated DNA or RNA molecules, which comprise and substantially represent the entire transcribed fraction of a genome of a specified organism. Construction of exemplary nucleic acid libraries, such as genomic and cDNA libraries, is taught in standard molecular biology references such as Berger and Kimmel, Guide to Molecular Cloning Techniques, Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 152, Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, Calif. (Berger); Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning—A Laboratory Manual, 2^(nd) ed., Vol. 1-3 (1989); and Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, F. M. Ausubel et al., Eds., Current Protocols, ajoint venture between Greene Publishing Associates, Inc. and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (1994).

[0076] As used herein “operably linked” includes reference to a functional linkage between a promoter and a second sequence, wherein the promoter sequence initiates and mediates transcription of the DNA sequence corresponding to the second sequence. Generally, operably linked means that the nucleic acid sequences being linked are contiguous and, where necessary to join two protein coding regions, contiguous and in the same reading frame.

[0077] As used herein, the term “plant” includes reference to whole plants, plant organs (e.g., leaves, stems, roots, etc.), seeds and plant cells and progeny of same. Plant cell, as used herein includes, without limitation, seeds, suspension cultures, embryos, meristematic regions, callus tissue, leaves, roots, shoots, gametophytes, sporophytes, pollen, and microspores. The class of plants, which can be used in the methods of the invention, is generally as broad as the class of higher plants amenable to transformation techniques, including both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants. Preferred plants include, but are not limited to maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice, barley, and millet. A particularly preferred plant is maize (Zea mays).

[0078] As used herein, “polynucleotide” includes reference to a deoxyribopolynucleotide, ribopolynucleotide, or analogs thereof that have the essential nature of a natural ribonucleotide in that they hybridize, under stringent hybridization conditions, to substantially the same nucleotide sequence as naturally occurring nucleotides and/or allow translation into the same amino acid(s) as the naturally occurring nucleotide(s). A polynucleotide can be full-length or a subsequence of a native or heterologous structural or regulatory gene. Unless otherwise indicated, the term includes reference to the specified sequence as well as the complementary sequence thereof. Thus, DNAs or RNAs with backbones modified for stability or for other reasons are “polynucleotides” as that term is intended herein. Moreover, DNAs or RNAs comprising unusual bases, such as inosine, or modified bases, such as tritylated bases, to name just two examples, are polynucleotides as the term is used herein. It will be appreciated that a great variety of modification have been made to DNA and RNA that serve many useful purposes known to those of skill in the art. The term polynucleotide as it is employed herein embraces such chemically, enzymatically or metabolically modified forms of polynucleotides, as well as the chemical forms of DNA and RNA characteristic of viruses and cells, including among other things, simple and complex cells.

[0079] The terms “polypeptide”, “peptide” and “protein” are used interchangeably herein to refer to a polymer of amino acid residues. The terms apply to amino acid polymers in which one or more amino acid residue is an artificial chemical analogue of a corresponding naturally occurring amino acid, as well as to naturally occurring amino acid polymers. The essential nature of such analogues of naturally occurring amino acids is that, when incorporated into a protein, that protein is specifically reactive to antibodies elicited to the same protein but consisting entirely of naturally occurring amino acids. The terms “polypeptide”, “peptide”, and “protein” are also inclusive of modifications including, but not limited to, glycosylation, lipid attachment, sulfation, gamma-carboxylation of glutamic acid residues, hydroxylation and ADP-ribosylation. It will be appreciated, as is well known and as noted above, that polypeptides are not always entirely linear. For instance, polypeptides may be branched as a result of ubiquination, and they may be circular, with or without branching, generally as a result of post-translation events, including natural processing event and events brought about by human manipulation which do not occur naturally. Circular, branched and branched circular polypeptides may be synthesized by non-translation natural process and by entirely synthetic methods, as well. Further, this invention contemplates the use of both the methionine containing and the methionine-less amino terminal variants of the protein of the invention.

[0080] As used herein “promoter or transcriptional regulatory region” includes reference to a region of DNA upstream from the start of transcription and involved in recognition and binding of RNA polymerase and other proteins to initiate transcription. A “plant promoter or transcriptional regulatory region” is a promoter or transcriptional regulatory region capable of initiating transcription in plant cells whether or not its origin is a plant cell. Exemplary plant promoters include, but are not limited to, those that are obtained from plants, plant viruses, and bacteria which comprise genes expressed in plant cells such as Agrobacterium or Rhizobium. Examples of promoters under developmental control include promoters that preferentially initiate transcription in certain tissues, such as leaves, roots, or seeds. Such promoters are referred to as “tissue preferred”. Promoters who initiate transcription only in certain tissue are referred to as “tissue specific”. A “cell type” specific promoter primarily drives expression in certain cell types in one or more organs, for example, vascular cells in roots or leaves. An “inducible” or “repressible” promoter is a promoter, which is under environmental control. Examples of environmental conditions that may effect transcription by inducible promoters include anaerobic conditions or the presence of light. Tissue specific, tissue preferred, cell type specific, and inducible promoters constitute the class of “non-constitutive” promoters. A “constitutive” promoter is a promoter, which is active under most environmental conditions.

[0081] As used herein “recombinant” includes reference to a cell or vector, that has been modified by the introduction of a heterologous nucleic acid or that the cell is derived from a cell so modified. Thus, for example, recombinant cells express genes that are not found in identical form within the native (non-recombinant) form of the cell or express native genes that are otherwise abnormally expressed, under-expressed or not expressed at all as a result of deliberate human intervention. The term “recombinant” as used herein does not encompass the alteration of the cell or vector by naturally occurring events (e.g., spontaneous mutation, natural transformation/transduction/transposition) such as those occurring without deliberate human intervention.

[0082] As used herein, a “recombinant expression cassette” is a nucleic acid construct, generated recombinantly or synthetically, with a series of specified nucleic acid elements, which permit transcription of a particular nucleic acid in a host cell. The recombinant expression cassette can be incorporated into a plasmid, chromosome, mitochondrial DNA, plastid DNA, virus, or nucleic acid fragment. Typically, the recombinant expression cassette portion of an expression vector includes, among other sequences, a nucleic acid to be transcribed, and a promoter.

[0083] The term “residue” or “amino acid residue” or “amino acid” are used interchangeably herein to refer to an amino acid that is incorporated into a protein, polypeptide, or peptide (collectively “protein”). The amino acid may be a naturally occurring amino acid and, unless otherwise limited, may encompass non-natural analogs of natural amino acids that can function in a similar manner as naturally occurring amino acids.

[0084] The term “selectively hybridizes” includes a reference to hybridization, under stringent hybridization conditions, of a nucleic acid sequence to a specified nucleic acid target sequence to a detectably greater degree (e.g., at least 2-fold over background) than its hybridization to non-target nucleic acid sequences and to the substantial exclusion of non-target nucleic acids. Selectively hybridizing sequences typically have about at least 80% sequence identity, preferably 90% sequence identity, and most preferably 100% sequence identity (i.e., complementary) with each other.

[0085] The terms “stringent conditions” or “stringent hybridization conditions” include reference to conditions under which a probe will hybridize to its target sequence, to a detectably greater degree than other sequences (e.g., at least 2-fold over background). Stringent conditions are sequence-dependent and will be different in different circumstances. By controlling the stringency of the hybridization and/or washing conditions, target sequences can be identified which are 100% complementary to the probe (homologous probing). Alternatively, stringency conditions can be adjusted to allow some mismatching in sequences so that lower degrees of similarity are detected (heterologous probing). Generally, a probe is less than about 1000 nucleotides in length, optionally less than 500 nucleotides in length.

[0086] Typically, stringent conditions will be those in which the salt concentration is less than about 1.5 M Na ion, typically about 0.01 to 1.0 M Na ion concentration (or other salts) at pH 7.0 to 8.3 and the temperature is at least about 30° C. for short probes (e.g., 10 to 50 nucleotides) and at least about 60° C. for long probes (e.g., greater than 50 nucleotides). Stringent conditions may also be achieved with the addition of destabilizing agents such as formamide. Exemplary low stringency conditions include hybridization with a buffer solution of 30 to 35% formamide, 1 M NaCl, 1% SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate) at 37° C., and a wash in 1× to 2× SSC (20× SSC =3.0 M NaCl/0.3 M trisodium citrate) at 50 to 55° C. Exemplary moderate stringency conditions include hybridization in 40 to 45% formamide, 1 M NaCl, 1% SDS at 37° C., and a wash in 0.5× to 1× SSC at 55 to 60° C. Exemplary high stringency conditions include hybridization in 50% formamide, I M NaCl, 1% SDS at 37° C., and a wash in0.1× SSC at 60 to 65° C.

[0087] Specificity is typically the function of post-hybridization washes, the critical factors being the ionic strength and temperature of the final wash solution. For DNA-DNA hybrids, the T_(m) can be approximated from the equation of Meinkoth and Wahl, Anal. Biochem., 138:267-284 (1984): T_(m)=81.5° C.+16.6 (log M)+0.41 (%CG)−0.61 (% form)−500/L; where M is the molarity of monovalent cations, %CG is the percentage of guanosine and cytosine nucleotides in the DNA, % form is the percentage of formamide in the hybridization solution, and L is the length of the hybrid in base pairs. The T_(m) is the temperature (under defined ionic strength and pH) at which 50% of a complementary target sequence hybridizes to a perfectly matched probe. T_(m) is reduced by about 1° C. for each 1% of mismatching; thus, T_(m), hybridization and/or wash conditions can be adjusted to hybridize to sequences of the desired identity. For example, if sequences with ≧90% identity are sought, the T_(m) can be decreased 10° C. Generally, stringent conditions are selected to be about 5° C. lower than the thermal melting point (T_(m)) for the specific sequence and its complement at a defined ionic strength and pH. However, severely stringent conditions can utilize a hybridization and/or wash at 1, 2, 3, or 4° lower than the thermal melting point (T_(m)); moderately stringent conditions can utilize a hybridization and/or wash at 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10° C. lower than the thermal melting point (T_(m)); low stringency conditions can utilize a hybridization and/or wash at 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, or 20° C. lower than the thermal melting point (T_(m)). Using the equation, hybridization and wash compositions, and desired T_(m), those of ordinary skill will understand that variations in the stringency of hybridization and/or wash solutions are inherently described. If the desired degree of mismatching results in a T_(m) of less than 45° C. (aqueous solution) or 32° C. (formamide solution) it is preferred to increase the SSC concentration so that a higher temperature can be used. An extensive guide to the hybridization of nucleic acids is found in Tijssen, Laboratory Techniques in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology—Hybridization with Nucleic Acid Probes, Part I, Chapter 2 “Overview of principles of hybridization and the strategy of nucleic acid probe assays”, Elsevier, New York (1993); and Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Chapter 2, Ausubel, et al., Eds., Greene Publishing and Wiley-Interscience, New York (1995).

[0088] As used herein, “transgenic plant” includes reference to a plant, which comprises within its genome a heterologous polynucleotide. Generally, the heterologous polynucleotide is stably integrated within the genome such that the polynucleotide is passed on to successive generations. The heterologous polynucleotide may be integrated into the genome alone or as part of a recombinant expression cassette. “Transgenic” is used herein to include any cell, cell line, callus, tissue, plant part or plant, the genotype of which has been altered by the presence of heterologous nucleic acid including those transgenics initially so altered as well as those created by sexual crosses or asexual propagation from the initial transgenic. The term “transgenic” as used herein does not encompass the alteration of the genome (chromosomal or extra-chromosomal) by conventional plant breeding methods or by naturally occurring events such as random cross-fertilization, non-recombinant viral infection, non-recombinant bacterial transformation, non-recombinant transposition, or spontaneous mutation.

[0089] As used herein, “vector” includes reference to a nucleic acid used in transfection of a host cell and into which can be inserted a polynucleotide. Vectors are often replicons. Expression vectors permit transcription of a nucleic acid inserted therein.

[0090] The following terms are used to describe the sequence relationships between two or more nucleic acids or polynucleotides: (a) “reference sequence”, (b) “comparison windows”, (c) “sequence identity”, (d) “percentage of sequence identity”, and (e) “substantial identity”.

[0091] (a) As used herein, “reference sequence” is a defined sequence used as a basis for sequence comparison. A reference sequence may be a subset or the entirety of a specified sequence; for example, as a segment of a full-length cDNA or gene sequence, or the complete cDNA or gene sequence.

[0092] (b) As used herein, “comparison window” means includes reference to a contiguous and specified segment of a polynucleotide sequence, wherein the polynucleotide sequence may be compared to a reference sequence and wherein the portion of the polynucleotide sequence in the comparison window may comprise additions or deletions (i.e., gaps) compared to the reference sequence (which does not comprise additions or deletions) for optimal alignment of the two sequences. Generally, the comparison window is at least 20 contiguous nucleotides in length, and optionally can be 30, 40, 50, 100, or longer. Those of skill in the art understand that to avoid a high similarity to a reference sequence due to inclusion of gaps in the polynucleotide sequence a gap penalty is typically introduced and is subtracted from the number of matches.

[0093] Methods of alignment of sequences for comparison are well known in the art. Optimal alignment of sequences for comparison may be conducted by the local homology algorithm of Smith and Waterman. Adv. Appl. Math. 2: 482 (1981); by the homology alignment algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch, J. Mol Biol 48: 443 (1970); by the search for similarity method of Pearson and Lipman, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 85: 2444 (1988); by computerized implementations of these algorithms, including, but not limited to: CLUSTAL in the PC/Gene program by Intelligenetics, Mountain View, Calif., GAP, BESTFIT, BLAST, FASTA, and TFASTA in the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package, Genetics Computer Group (GCG), 575 Science Dr., Madison, Wis., USA; the CLUSTAL program is well described by Higgins and Sharp, Gene 73: 237-244 (1988); Higgins and Sharp, CABIOS 5: 151-153 (1989); Corpet, et al., Nucleic Acids Research 16: 10881-90 (1988); Huang, et al., Computer Applications in the Biosciences 8: 155-65 (1992), and Pearson, et al., Methods in Molecular Biology 24: 307-331 (1994). The BLAST family of programs which can be used for database similarity searches includes: BLASTN for nucleotide query sequences against nucleotide database sequences; BLASTX for nucleotide query sequences against protein database sequences; BLASTP for protein query sequences against protein database sequences; TBLASTN for protein query sequences against nucleotide database sequences; and TBLASTX for nucleotide query sequences against nucleotide database sequences. See, Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Chapter 19, Ausubel, et al., Eds., Greene Publishing and Wiley-Interscience, New York (1995).

[0094] GAP uses the algorithm of Needleman and Wunsch (J Mol Biol 48: 443-453 (1970)) to find the alignment of two complete sequences that maximizes the number of matches and minimizes the number of gaps. GAP considers all possible alignments and gap positions and creates the alignment with the largest number of matched bases and the fewest gaps. It allows for the provision of a gap creation penalty and a gap extension penalty in units of matched bases. GAP must make a profit of gap creation penalty number of matches for each gap it inserts. If a gap extension penalty greater than zero is chosen, GAP must, in addition, make a profit for each gap inserted of the over the length of the gap times the gap extension penalty. Default gap creation penalty values and gap extension penalty values in Version 10 of the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package are 8 and 2, respectively, for protein sequences. For nucleotide sequences the default gap creation penalty is 50 while the default gap extension penalty is 3. The gap creation and gap extension penalties can be expressed as an integer selected from the group of integers consisting of from 0 to 100. Thus, for example, the gap creation and gap extension penalties can be 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, or greater.

[0095] GAP presents one member of the family of best alignments. There may be many members of this family, but no other member has a better quality. GAP displays four figures of merit for alignments: Quality, Ratio, Identity, and Similarity. The Quality is the metric maximized in order to align the sequences. Ratio is the quality divided by the number of bases in the shorter segment. Percent Identity is the percent of the symbols that actually match. Percent Similarity is the percent of the symbols that are similar. Symbols that are across from gaps are ignored. A similarity is scored when the scoring matrix value for a pair of symbols is greater than or equal to 0.50, the similarity threshold. The scoring matrix used in Version 10 of the Wisconsin Genetics Software Package is BLOSUM62 (see Henikoff and Henikoff, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 89:10915). Unless otherwise stated, sequence identity/similarity values provided herein refer to the value obtained using the GAP version 10 of Wisconsin Genetic Software Package using default parameters.

[0096] Comparisons of polynucleotide sequences that are of substantially different lengths can be determined by a combination of percent identity between the two sequences times the ratio of the coding region. In other words, Relation=% Identity×Ratio of the coding region. For example, if a first polynucleotide is 100% identical at the nucleotide level, but only represents 30% of the coding region of the second polynucleotide, then it is expressed as 30% related.

[0097] (c) As used herein, “sequence identity” or “identity” in the context of two nucleic acid or polypeptide sequences includes reference to the residues in the two sequences, which are the same when aligned for maximum correspondence over a specified comparison window. When percentage of sequence identity is used in reference to proteins it is recognized that residue positions which are not identical often differ by conservative amino acid substitutions, where amino acid residues are substituted for other amino acid residues with similar chemical properties (e.g. charge or hydrophobicity) and therefore do not change the functional properties of the molecule. Where sequences differ in conservative substitutions, the percent sequence identity may be adjusted upwards to correct for the conservative nature of the substitution. Sequences, which differ by such conservative substitutions, are said to have “sequence similarity” or “similarity”. Means for making this adjustment are well known to those of skill in the art. Typically this involves scoring a conservative substitution as a partial rather than a full mismatch, thereby increasing the percentage sequence identity. Thus, for example, where an identical amino acid is given a score of 1 and a non-conservative substitution is given a score of zero, a conservative substitution is given a score between zero and 1. The scoring of conservative substitutions is calculated, e.g., according to the algorithm of Meyers and Miller, Computer Applic. Biol. Sci., 4: 11-17 (1988) e.g., as implemented in the program PC/GENE (Intelligenetics, Mountain View, Califormia, USA).

[0098] (d) As used herein, “percentage of sequence identity” means the value determined by comparing two optimally aligned sequences over a comparison window, wherein the portion of the polynucleotide sequence in the comparison window may comprise additions or deletions (i.e., gaps) as compared to the reference sequence (which does not comprise additions or deletions) for optimal alignment of the two sequences. The percentage is calculated by determining the number of positions at which the identical nucleic acid base or amino acid residue occurs in both sequences to yield the number of matched positions, dividing the number of matched positions by the total number of positions in the window of comparison and multiplying the result by 100 to yield the percentage of sequence identity.

[0099] Nucleic Acids

[0100] The present invention provides, among other things, isolated nucleic acids of RNA, DNA, and analogs and/or chimeras thereof, comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention.

[0101] A polynucleotide of the present invention is inclusive of:

[0102] (a) a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of SEQ ID NOS: 2, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, and 38, including exemplary polynucleotides of SEQ ID NOS: 1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43;

[0103] (b) a polynucleotide which is the product of amplification from a Zea mays nucleic acid library using primer pairs which selectively hybridize under stringent conditions to loci within a polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43, wherein the polynucleotide has substantial sequence identity to a polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43;

[0104] (c) a polynucleotide which selectively hybridizes to a polynucleotide of (a) or (b);

[0105] (d) a polynucleotide having a specified sequence identity with polynucleotides of (a), (b), or (c);

[0106] (e) complementary sequences of polynucleotides of (a), (b), (c), r (d); and

[0107] (f) a polynucleotide comprising at least a specific number of contiguous nucleotides from a polynucleotide of (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e).

[0108] A. Polynucleotides Encoding a Polypeptide of the Present Invention

[0109] The present invention provides isolated nucleic acids comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention, wherein the polynucleotide encodes a polypeptide of the present invention. Accordingly, the present invention includes polynucleotides of SEQ ID NOS: 1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43, and silent variations of polynucleotides encoding a polypeptide of SEQ ID NOS: 2, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, and 38. The present invention further provides isolated nucleic acids comprising polynucleotides encoding conservatively modified variants of a polypeptide of SEQ ID NOS: 2, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, and 38. Conservatively modified variants can be used to generate or select antibodies immunoreactive to the non-variant polypeptide. Additionally, the present invention further provides isolated nucleic acids comprising polynucleotides encoding one or more allelic (polymorphic) variants of polypeptides/polynucleotides. Polymorphic variants are frequently used to follow segregation of chromosomal regions in, for example, marker assisted selection methods for crop improvement.

[0110] B. Polynucleotides Amplified from a Plant Nucleic Acid Library

[0111] The present invention provides an isolated nucleic acid comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention, wherein the polynucleotides are amplified, under nucleic acid amplification conditions, from a plant nucleic acid library. Nucleic acid amplification conditions for each of the variety of amplification methods are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. The plant nucleic acid library can be constructed from a monocot such as a cereal crop. Exemplary cereals include corn, sorghum, alfalfa, canola, wheat, or rice. The plant nucleic acid library can also be constructed from a dicot such as soybean. Zea mays lines B73, PHRE1, A632, BMS-P2#10, W23, and Mol7 are known and publicly available. Other publicly known and available maize lines can be obtained from the Maize Genetics Cooperation (Urbana, Ill.). Wheat lines are available from the Wheat Genetics Resource Center (Manhattan, Kans.).

[0112] The nucleic acid library may be a cDNA library, a genomic library, or a library generally constructed from nuclear transcripts at any stage of intron processing. cDNA libraries can be normalized to increase the representation of relatively rare cDNAs. In optional embodiments, the cDNA library is constructed using an enriched full-length cDNA synthesis method. Examples of such methods include Oligo-Capping (Maruyama, K. and Sugano, S. Gene 138: 171-174, 1994), Biotinylated CAP Trapper (Carninci, et al. Genomics 37: 327-336, 1996), and CAP Retention Procedure (Edery, E., Chu, L. L., et al. Molecular and Cellular Biology 15: 3363-3371, 1995). Rapidly growing tissues or rapidly dividing cells are preferred for use as a mRNA source for construction of a cDNA library. Growth stages of corn is described in “How a Corn Plant Develops,” Special Report No. 48, Iowa State University of Science and Technology Cooperative Extension Service, Ames, Iowa, Reprinted February 1993.

[0113] A polynucleotide of this embodiment (or subsequences thereof) can be obtained, for example, by using amplification primers which are selectively hybridized and primer extended, under nucleic acid amplification conditions, to at least two sites within a polynucleotide of the present invention, or to two sites within the nucleic acid which flank and comprise a polynucleotide of the present invention, or to a site within a polynucleotide of the present invention and a site within the nucleic acid which comprises it. Methods for obtaining 5′ and/or 3′ ends of a vector insert are well known in the art. See, e.g., RACE (Rapid Amplification of Complementary Ends) as described in Frohman, M. A., in PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications, M. A. Innis, D. H. Gelfand, J. J. Sninsky, T. J. White, Eds. (Academic Press, Inc., San Diego), pp. 28-38 (1990)); see also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,722, and Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Unit 15.6, Ausubel, et al., Eds., Greene Publishing and Wiley-Interscience, New York (1995); Frohman and Martin, Techniques 1:165 (1989).

[0114] Preferably, the primers are complementary to a subsequence of the target nucleic acid which they amplify but may have a sequence identity ranging from about 85% to 99% relative to the polynucleotide sequence which they are designed to anneal to. As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the sites to which the primer pairs will selectively hybridize are chosen such that a single contiguous nucleic acid can be formed under the desired nucleic acid amplification conditions. The primer length in nucleotides is selected from the group of integers consisting of from at least 15 to 50. Thus, the primers can be at least 15, 18, 20, 25, 30, 40, or 50 nucleotides in length. Those of skill will recognize that a lengthened primer sequence can be employed to increase specificity of binding (i.e., annealing) to a target sequence. A non-annealing sequence at the 5′ end of a primer (a “tail”) can be added, for example, to introduce a cloning site at the terminal ends of the amplicon.

[0115] The amplification products can be translated using expression systems well known to those of skill in the art. The resulting translation products can be confirmed as polypeptides of the present invention by, for example, assaying for the appropriate catalytic activity (e.g., specific activity and/or substrate specificity), or verifying the presence of one or more linear epitopes, which are specific to a polypeptide of the present invention. Methods for protein synthesis from PCR derived templates are known in the art and available commercially. See, e.g., Amersham Life Sciences, Inc, Catalog '97, p.354.

[0116] C. Polynucleotides Which Selectively Hybridize to a Polynucleotide of (A) or (B)

[0117] The present invention provides isolated nucleic acids comprising polynucleotides of the present invention, wherein the polynucleotides selectively hybridize, under selective hybridization conditions, to a polynucleotide of section (A) or (B) as discussed above. Thus, the polynucleotides of this embodiment can be used for isolating, detecting, and/or quantifying nucleic acids comprising the polynucleotides of (A) or (B). For example, polynucleotides of the present invention can be used to identify, isolate, or amplify partial or full-length clones in a deposited library. In some embodiments, the polynucleotides are genomic or cDNA sequences isolated or otherwise complementary to a cDNA from a dicot or monocot nucleic acid library. Exemplary species of monocots and dicots include, but are not limited to: maize, canola, soybean, cotton, wheat, sorghum, sunflower, alfalfa, oats, sugar cane, millet, barley, and rice. The cDNA library comprises at least 50% to 95% full-length sequences (for example, at least 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 95% full-length sequences). The cDNA libraries can be normalized to increase the representation of rare sequences. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,845. Low stringency hybridization conditions are typically, but not exclusively, employed with sequences having a reduced sequence identity relative to complementary sequences. Moderate and high stringency conditions can optionally be employed for sequences of greater identity. Low stringency conditions allow selective hybridization of sequences having about 70% to 80% sequence identity and can be employed to identify orthologous or paralogous sequences.

[0118] D. Polynucleotides Having a Specific Sequence Identify with the Polynucleotides of (A), (B) or (C)

[0119] The present invention provides isolated nucleic acids comprising polynucleotides of the present invention, wherein the polynucleotides have a specified identity at the nucleotide level to a polynucleotide as disclosed above in sections (A), (B), or (C), above. The percentage of identity to a reference sequence is at least 60% and, rounded upwards to the nearest integer, can be expressed as an integer selected from the group of integers consisting of from 60 to 99. Thus, for example, the percentage of identity to a reference sequence can be at least 70%, 75%, 76%, 77%, 78%, 79%, 80%, 81%, 82%, 83%, 84%, 85%, 86%, 87%, 88%, 89%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99%.

[0120] Optionally, the polynucleotides of this embodiment will encode a polypeptide that will share an epitope with a polypeptide encoded by the polynucleotides of section (A), (B), or (C). Thus, these polynucleotides encode a first polypeptide, which elicits production of antisera comprising which are specifically reactive to a second polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide of (A), (B), or (C). However, the first polypeptide does not bind to antisera raised against itself when the antisera have been fully immunosorbed with the first polypeptide. Hence, the polynucleotides of this embodiment can be used to generate antibodies for use in, for example, the screening of expression libraries for nucleic acids comprising polynucleotides of (A), (B), or (C), or for purification of, or in immunoassays for, polypeptides encoded by the polynucleotides of (A), (B), or (C). The polynucleotides of this embodiment embrace nucleic acid sequences, which can be employed for selective hybridization to a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of the present invention.

[0121] Screening polypeptides for specific binding to antisera can be conveniently achieved using peptide display libraries. This method involves the screening of large collections of peptides for individual members having the desired function or structure. Antibody screening of peptide display libraries is well known in the art. The displayed peptide sequences can be from 3 to 5000 or more amino acids in length, frequently from 5-100 amino acids long, and often from about 8 to 15 amino acids long. In addition to direct chemical synthetic methods for generating peptide libraries, several recombinant DNA methods have been described. One type involves the display of a peptide sequence on the surface of a bacteriophage or cell. Each bacteriophage or cell contains the nucleotide sequence encoding the particular displayed peptide sequence. Such methods are described in PCT patent publication Nos. 91/17271, 91/18980, 91/19818, and 93/08278. Other systems for generating libraries of peptides have aspects of both in vitro chemical synthesis and recombinant methods. See PCT Patent publication Nos. 92/05258, 92/14843, and 96/19256. See also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,658,754; and 5,643,768. Peptide display libraries, vectors, and screening kits are commercially available from such suppliers as Invitrogen (Carlsbad, Calif.).

[0122] E. Polynucleotides Complementary to the Polynucleotides of (A)-(D).

[0123] The present invention provides isolated nucleic acids comprising polynucleotides complementary to the polynucleotides of paragraphs A-D, above. As those of skill in the art will recognize, complementary sequences base-pair throughout the entirety of their length with the polynucleotides of sections (A)-(D) (i.e., have 100% sequence identity over their entire length.) Complementary bases associate through hydrogen bonding in double stranded nucleic acids. For example, the following base pairs are complementary: guanine and cytosine; adenine and thymine; and adenine and uracil.

[0124] F. Polynucleotides That are Subsequences of the Polynucleotides of (A)-(E)

[0125] The present invention provides isolated nucleic acids comprising polynucleotides that comprise at least 15 contiguous bases from the polynucleotides of section (A) through (E) as discussed above. The length of the polynucleotide is given as an integer selected from the group consisting of from at least 15 to the length of the nucleic acid sequence from which the polynucleotide is a subsequence of. Thus, for example, polynucleotides of the present invention are inclusive of polynucleotides comprising at least 15, 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 75, or 100 contiguous nucleotides in length from the polynucleotides of (A)-(E). Optionally, the number of such subsequences encoded by a polynucleotide of the instant embodiment can be any integer selected from the group consisting of from 1 to 20, such as 2, 3, 4, or 5. The subsequences can be separated by any integer of nucleotides from 1 to the number of nucleotides in the sequence such as at least 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170, 180, 190, 200, 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 280, 290, 300, 350, 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, 650, 700, 750, 800, 850, 900, 950, or 1000.

[0126] The subsequences of the present invention can comprise structural characteristics of the sequence from which it is derived. Alternatively, the subsequences can lack certain structural characteristics of the larger sequence from which it is derived such as poly (A) tail. Optionally, a subsequence from a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide having at least one linear epitope in common with a prototype polypeptide sequence as provided in (a), above, may encode an epitope in common with the prototype sequence. Alternatively, the subsequence may not encode an epitope in common with the prototype sequence but can be used to isolate the larger sequence by, for example, nucleic acid hybridization with the sequence from which it's derived. Subsequences can be used to modulate or detect gene expression by introducing into the subsequence compounds, which bind, intercalate, cleave and/or crosslink to nucleic acids. Exemplary compounds include acridine, psoralen, phenanthroline, naphthoquinone, daunomycin, or chloroethylaminoaryl conjugates. In addition, by virtue of the fact that WRKY polynucleotides contain DNA binding regions, such as the TGAC-containing W box, subsequences of a WRKY polynucleotide could be used to test the binding of target DNA or to identify genes or promoters that respond to the WRKY domains.

[0127] Construction of Nucleic Acids

[0128] The isolated nucleic acids of the present invention can be made using (a) standard recombinant methods, (b) synthetic techniques, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, the polynucleotides of the present invention will be cloned, amplified, or otherwise constructed from a monocot. In preferred embodiments the monocot is Zea mays.

[0129] The nucleic acids may conveniently comprise sequences in addition to a polynucleotide of the present invention. For example, a multi-cloning site comprising one or more endonuclease restriction sites may be inserted into the nucleic acid to aid in isolation of the polynucleotide. Also, translatable sequences may be inserted to aid in the isolation of the translated polynucleotide of the present invention. For example, a hexa-histidine marker sequence provides a convenient means to purify the proteins of the present invention. A polynucleotide of the present invention can be attached to a vector, adapter, or linker for cloning and/or expression of a polynucleotide of the present invention. Additional sequences may be added to such cloning and/or expression sequences to optimize their function in cloning and/or expression, to aid in isolation of the polynucleotide, or to improve the introduction of the polynucleotide into a cell. Typically, the length of a nucleic acid of the present invention less the length of its polynucleotide of the present invention is less than 20 kilobase pairs, often less than 15 kb, and frequently less than 10 kb. Use of cloning vectors, expression vectors, adapters, and linkers is well known and extensively described in the art. For a description of various nucleic acids see, for example, Stratagene Cloning Systems, Catalogs 1999 (La Jolla, Calif.); and, Amersham Life Sciences, Inc, Catalog '99 (Arlington Heights, Ill.).

[0130] A. Recombinant Methods for Constructing Nucleic Acids

[0131] The isolated nucleic acid compositions of this invention, such as RNA, cDNA, genomic DNA, or a hybrid thereof, can be obtained from plant biological sources using any number of cloning methodologies known to those of skill in the art. In some embodiments, oligonucleotide probes that selectively hybridize, under stringent conditions, to the polynucleotides of the present invention are used to identify the desired sequence in a cDNA or genomic DNA library. Isolation of RNA and construction of cDNA and genomic libraries is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art. See, e.g., Plant Molecular Biology: A Laboratory Manual, Clark, Ed., Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1997); and, Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Ausubel, et al., Eds., Greene Publishing and Wiley-Interscience, New York (1995).

[0132] A1. Full-length Enriched cDNA Libraries

[0133] A number of cDNA synthesis protocols have been described which provide enriched full-length cDNA libraries. Enriched full-length cDNA libraries are constructed to comprise at least 60%, and more preferably at least 70%, 80%, 90% or 95% full-length inserts amongst clones containing inserts. The length of insert in such libraries can be at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 or more kilobase pairs. Vectors to accommodate inserts of these sizes are known in the art and available commercially. See, e.g., Stratagene's lambda ZAP Express (cDNA cloning vector with 0 to 12 kb cloning capacity). An exemplary method of constructing a greater than 95% pure full-length cDNA library is described by Carninci et al., Genomics, 37:327-336 (1996). Other methods for producing full-length libraries are known in the art. See, e.g., Edery et al., Mol. Cell Biol., 15(6):3363-3371 (1995); and, PCT Application WO 96/34981.

[0134] A2 Normalized or Subtracted cDNA Libraries

[0135] A non-normalized cDNA library represents the mRNA population of the tissue it was made from. Since unique clones are out-numbered by clones derived from highly expressed genes their isolation can be laborious. Normalization of a cDNA library is the process of creating a library in which each clone is more equally represented. Construction of normalized libraries is described in Ko, Nucl Acids Res, 18(19):5705-5711 (1990); Patanjali et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. U.S.A., 88:1943-1947 (1991); U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,482,685, 5,482,845, and 5,637,685. In an exemplary method described by Soares et al., normalization resulted in reduction of the abundance of clones from a range of four orders of magnitude to a narrow range of only 1 order of magnitude. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 91:9228-9232 (1994).

[0136] Subtracted cDNA libraries are another means to increase the proportion of less abundant cDNA species. In this procedure, cDNA prepared from one pool of mRNA is depleted of sequences present in a second pool of mRNA by hybridization. The cDNA:mRNA hybrids are removed and the remaining un-hybridized cDNA pool is enriched for sequences unique to that pool. See, Foote et al. in, Plant Molecular Biology: A Laboratory Manual, Clark, Ed., Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1997); Kho and Zarbl, Technique, 3(2):58-63 (1991); Sive and St. John, Nucl. Acids Res., 16(22):10937 (1988); Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Ausubel, et al., Eds., Greene Publishing and Wiley-Interscience, New York (1995); and, Swaroop et al., Nucl. Acids Res., 19(8):1954 (1991). cDNA subtraction kits are commercially available. See, e.g., PCR-Select (Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.).

[0137] To construct genomic libraries, large segments of genomic DNA are generated by fragmentation, e.g. using restriction endonucleases, and are ligated with vector DNA to form concatemers that can be packaged into the appropriate vector. Methodologies to accomplish these ends and sequencing methods to verify the sequence of nucleic acids are well known in the art. Examples of appropriate molecular biological techniques and instructions sufficient to direct persons of skill through many construction, cloning, and screening methodologies are found in Sambrook, et al., Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd Ed., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Vols. 1-3 (1989), Methods in Enzymology, Vol. 152: Guide to Molecular Cloning Techniques, Berger and Kimmel, Eds., San Diego: Academic Press, Inc. (1987), Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, Ausubel, et al., Eds., Greene Publishing and Wiley-Interscience, New York (1995); Plant Molecular Biology: A Laboratory Manual, Clark, Ed., Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1997). Kits for construction of genomic libraries are also commercially available.

[0138] The cDNA or genomic library can be screened using a probe based upon the sequence of a polynucleotide of the present invention such as those disclosed herein. Probes may be used to hybridize with genomic DNA or cDNA sequences to isolate homologous genes in the same or different plant species. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that various degrees of stringency of hybridization can be employed in the assay; and either the hybridization or the wash medium can be stringent.

[0139] The nucleic acids of interest can also be amplified from nucleic acid samples using amplification techniques. For instance, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology can be used to amplify the sequences of polynucleotides of the present invention and related genes directly from genomic DNA or cDNA libraries. PCR and other in vitro amplification methods may also be useful, for example, to clone nucleic acid sequences that code for proteins to be expressed, to make nucleic acids to use as probes for detecting the presence of the desired mRNA in samples, for nucleic acid sequencing, or for other purposes. The T4 gene 32 protein (Boehringer Mannheim) can be used to improve yield of long PCR products.

[0140] PCR-based screening methods have been described. Wilfinger et al. describe a PCR-based method in which the longest cDNA is identified in the first step so that incomplete clones can be eliminated from study. BioTechniques, 22(3): 481-486 (1997). Such methods are particularly effective in combination with a full-length cDNA construction methodology, above.

[0141] B. Synthetic Methods for Constructing Nucleic Acids

[0142] The isolated nucleic acids of the present invention can also be prepared by direct chemical synthesis by methods such as the phosphotriester method of Narang et al., Meth. Enzymol. 68: 90-99 (1979); the phosphodiester method of Brown et al., Meth. Enzymol. 68: 109-151 (1979); the diethylphosphoramidite method of Beaucage et al., Tetra. Lett. 22: 1859-1862 (1981); the solid phase phosphoramidite triester method described by Beaucage and Caruthers, Tetra. Letts. 22(20): 1859-1862 (1981), e.g., using an automated synthesizer, e.g., as described in Needham-VanDevanter et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 12: 6159-6168 (1984); and, the solid support method of U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,066. Chemical synthesis generally produces a single stranded oligonucleotide. This may be converted into double stranded DNA by hybridization with a complementary sequence, or by polymerization with a DNA polymerase using the single strand as a template. One of skill will recognize that while chemical synthesis of DNA is best employed for sequences of about 100 bases or less, longer sequences may be obtained by the ligation of shorter sequences.

[0143] Recombinant Expression Cassettes

[0144] The present invention further provides recombinant expression cassettes comprising a nucleic acid of the present invention. A nucleic acid sequence coding for the desired polynucleotide of the present invention, for example a cDNA or a genomic sequence encoding a full length polypeptide of the present invention, can be used to construct a recombinant expression cassette which can be introduced into the desired host cell. A recombinant expression cassette will typically comprise a polynucleotide of the present invention operably linked to transcriptional initiation regulatory sequences which will direct the transcription of the polynucleotide in the intended host cell, such as tissues of a transformed plant.

[0145] For example, plant expression vectors may include (1) a cloned plant gene under the transcriptional control of 5′ and 3′ regulatory sequences and (2) a dominant selectable marker. Such plan expression vectors may also contain, if desired, a promoter regulatory region (e.g., one conferring inducible or constitutive, environmentally- or developmentally-regulated, or cell- or tissue-specific/selective expression), a transcription initiation start site, a ribosome binding site, an RNA processing signal, a transcription termination site, and/or a polyadenylation signal.

[0146] A number of promoters can be used in the practice of the invention. A plant promoter fragment can be employed which will direct expression of a polynucleotide of the present invention in all tissues of a regenerated plant. Such promoters are referred to herein as “constitutive” promoters and are active under most environmental conditions and stated of development or cell differentiation. Examples of constitutive promoters include the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S transcription initiation region, the 1′- or 2′-promoter derived from T-DNA of Agrobacterium tumefaciens, the ubiquitin 1 promoter (Christensen, et al. Plant Mol Biol 18, 675-689 (1992); Bruce, et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 86, 9692-9696 (1989)), the Smas promoter, the cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase promoter (U.S. Pat. No, 5,683,439), the Nos promoter, the pEmu promoter, the rubisco promoter, the GRP 1-8 promoter, the maize constitutive promoters described in PCT Publication No. WO 99/43797 which include the histone H2B, metallothionein, alpha-tubulin 3, elongation factor efla, ribosomal protein rps8, chlorophyll a/b binding protein, and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase promoters, and other transcription initiation regions from various plant genes known to those of skill. The preferred promoter is a pathogen-inducible promoter such as the Sclerotinia-inducible promoters PR5-2 and BAP, which can be found in co-pending U.S. application number 09/185,292, filed Oct. 10, 2000. Another preferred inducible promoter is a promoter designed with the estrogen response element (ERE) (Klein-Hitpass, et al., Nuc. Acids Res. 16:647-63 (1988)). For example, four repeats of the ERE element are fused upstream of the Adhl minimal promoter, which is fused upstream of the Adhl intron.

[0147] Where low level expression is desired, weak promoters will be used. It is recognized that weak inducible promoters may be used. Additionally, either a weak constitutive or a weak tissue specific promoter may be used. Generally, by a “weak promoter” is intended a promoter that drives expression of a coding sequence at a low level. By low level is intended at levels of about {fraction (1/1000)} transcripts to about {fraction (1/100,000)} transcripts to about {fraction (1/500,000)} transcripts. Alternatively, it is recognized that weak promoters also encompass promoters that are expresses in only a few cells and not in others to give a total low level of expression. Such weak constitutive promoters include, for example, the core promoter of the Rsyn7 (WO 97/44756), the core 35S CaMV promoter, and the like. Where a promoter is expressed at unacceptably high levels, portions of the promoter sequence can be deleted or modified to decrease expression levels. Additionally, to obtain a varied series in the level of expression, one can also make a set of transgenic plants containing the polynucleotides of the present invention with a strong constitutive promoter, and then rank the transgenic plants according to the observed level of expression. The transgenic plants will show a variety in performance, from high expression to low expression. Factors such as chromosomal position effect, cosuppression, and the like will affect the expression of the polynucleotide.

[0148] Alternatively, the plant promoter can direct expression of a polynucleotide of the present invention under environmental control. Such promoters are referred to here as “inducible” promoters. Environmental conditions that may effect transcription by inducible promoters include pathogen attack, anaerobic conditions, or the presence of light. Examples of inducible promoters are the Adhl promoter, which is inducible by hypoxia or cold stress, the Hsp7O promoter, which is inducible by heat stress, and the PPDK promoter, which is inducible by light. Examples of pathogen-inducible promoters include those from proteins, which are induced following infection by a pathogen; e.g., PR proteins, SAR proteins, beta-a,3-glucanase, chitinase, etc. See, for example, Redolfi, et al., Meth J. Plant Pathol. 89:245-254 (1983); Uknes et al., The Plant Cell 4:645-656 (1992); Van Loon, Plant Mol. Virol. 4:111-116 (1985); and PCT Publication No. WO 99/43819.

[0149] Of interest are promoters that are expresses locally at or near the site of pathogen infection. See, for example, Marineau, et al., Plant Mol Biol 9:335-342 (1987); Matton, et al., Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 2:325-342 (1987); Somssich et al., Proc Natl AcadSci USA 83:2427-2430 (1986); Somssich et al., Mole Gen Genetics 2:93-98 (1988); Yang, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 93:14972-14977. See also, Chen, et al., Plant J 10:955-966 (1996); Zhang and Sing, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 91:2507-2511 (1994); Warner, et al., Plant J 3:191-201 (1993), and Siebertz, et al., Plant Cell 1:961-968 (1989), all of which are herein incorporated by reference. Of particular interest is the inducible promoter for the maize PRms gene, whose expression is induced by the pathogen Fusarium moniliforme (see, for example, Cordero, et al., Physiol Molec Plant Path 41:189-200 (1992) and is herein incorporated by reference.

[0150] Additionally, as pathogens find entry into plants through wounds or insect damage, a wound inducible promoter may be used in the constructs of the invention. Such wound inducible promoters include potato proteinase inhibitor (pin II) gene (Ryan, Annu Rev Phytopath 28:425-449 (1990); Duan, et al., Nat Biotech 14:494-498 (1996)); wun1 and wun 2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,148; win1 and win2 (Stanford et al., Mol Gen Genet 215:200-208 (1989)); systemin (McGurl, et al., Science 225:1570-1573 (1992)); WIP1 (Rohmeier, et al., Plant Mol Biol 22:783-792 (1993); Eckelkamp, et al., FEB Letters 323:73-76 (1993)); MPI gene (Corderok, et al., The Plant J 6(2):141-150(1994)); and the like, herein incorporated by reference.

[0151] Examples of promoters under developmental control include promoters that initiate transcription only, or preferentially, in certain tissues, such as leaves, roots, fruit, seeds, or flowers. Exemplary promoters include the anther specific promoter 5126 (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,689,049 and 5,689,051), glob-1 promoter, and gamma-zein promoter. An exemplary promoter for leaf- and stalk-preferred expression is MS8-15 (WO 98/00533). Examples of seed-preferred promoters included, but are not limited to, 27 kD gamma zein promoter and waxy promoter (Boronat, et al., Plant Sci, 47:95-102 (1986); Reina, et al., Nucleic Acids Res 18(21):6426 (1990); and Kloesgen, et al., Mol Gen Genet 203:237-244 (1986)). Promoters that express in the embryo, pericarp, and endosperm are disclosed in PCT Publication WO 00/11177, published on Mar. 2, 2000, and PCT Publication WO 00/12733, published on Mar. 9, 2000, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The operation of a promoter may also vary depending on its location in the genome. Thus, a developmentally regulated promoter may become fully or partially constitutive in certain locations. A developmentally regulated promoter can also be modified, if necessary, for weak expression.

[0152] Both heterologous and non-heterologous (i.e. endogenous) promoters can be employed to direct expression of the nucleic acids of the present invention. These promoters can also be used, for example, in recombinant expression cassettes to drive expression of antisense nucleic acids to reduce, increase, or alter concentration and/or composition of the proteins of the present invention in a desired tissue. Thus, in some embodiments, the nucleic acid construct will comprise a promoter functional in a plant cell, such as in Zea Mays, operably linked to a polynucleotide of the present invention. Promoters useful in these embodiments include the endogenous promoters driving expression of a polypeptide of the present invention.

[0153] In some embodiments, isolated nucleic acids which serve as a promoter or enhancer elements can be introduced in the appropriate position (generally upstream) of a non-heterologous form of a polynucleotide of the present invention so as to up or down regulate expression of a polynucleotide of the present invention. For example, endogenous promoters can be altered in vivo by mutation, deletion, and/or substitution (see, Kmiec, U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,350; Zarling et al., PCT/US93?03868), or isolated promoters can be introduced into a plant cell in the proper orientation and distance from a gene of the present invention so as to control the expression of the gene. Gene expression can be modulated under conditions suitable for plant growth so as to alter the total concentration and/or alter the composition of the polypeptides of the present invention in plant cell. Thus, the present invention provides compositions, and methods for making, heterologous promoters and/or enhancers operably linked to a native, endogenous (i.e., non-heterologous) form of a polynucleotide of the present invention.

[0154] If polypeptide expression is desired, it is generally desirable to include a polyadenylation region at the 3′-end of a polynucleotide coding region. The polyadenylation region can be derived from the natural gene, from a variety of other plant genes, or from T-DNA. The 3′ end sequence to be added can be derived from, for example, the nopaline synthase or octopine synthase genes, or alternatively from another plant gene, or less preferably from any other eukaryotic gene.

[0155] An intron sequence can be added to the 5′ untranslated region or the coding sequence of the partial coding sequence to increase the amount of the mature message that accumulates in the cytosol. Inclusion of a spliceable intron in the transcription unit in both plant and animal expression constructs has been shown to increase gene expression at both the mRNA and protein levels up to 1000-fold, Buchman and Berg, Mol. Cell Biol. 8: 4395-4405 (1988); Callis et al., Genes Dev. 1: 1183-1200 (1987). Such intron enhancement of gene expression is typically greatest when placed near the 5′ end of the transcription unit. Use of the maize introns Adh1-S intron 1, 2, and 6, the Bronze-1 intron are known in the art. See generally, The Maize Handbook, Chapter 116, Freeling and Walbot, Eds., Springer, N.Y. (1994).

[0156] The vector comprising the sequences from a polynucleotide of the present invention will typically comprise a marker gene, which confers a selectable phenotype on plant cells. Usually, the selectable marker gene will encode antibiotic resistance, with suitable genes including genes coding for resistance to the antibiotic spectinomycin (e.g., the aada gene), the streptomycin phosphotransferase (SPT) gene coding for streptomycin resistance, the neomycin phosphotransferase (NPTII) gene encoding kanamycin or geneticin resistance, the hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT) gene coding for hygromycin resistance, genes coding for resistance to herbicides which act to inhibit the action of acetolactate synthase (ALS), in particular the sulfonylurea-type herbicides (e.g., the acetolactate synthase (ALS) gene containing mutations leading to such resistance in particular the S4 and/or Hra mutations), genes coding for resistance to herbicides which act to inhibit action of glutamine synthase, such as phosphinothricin or basta (e.g., the bar gene), or other such genes known in the art. The bar gene encodes resistance to the herbicide basta, the nptII gene encodes resistance to the antibiotics kanamycin and geneticin, and the ALS gene encodes resistance to the herbicide chlorsulfuron.

[0157] Typical vectors useful for expression of genes in higher plants are well known in the art and include vectors derived from the tumor-induced (Ti) plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens described by Rogers et al., Meth. In Enzymol., 153:253-277 (1987). These vectors are plant integrating vectors in that upon transformation, the vectors integrate a portion of vector DNA into the genome of the host plant. Exemplary A. tumefaciens vectors useful herein are plasmids pKYLX6 and pKYLX7 of Schardl et al., Gene, 61:1-11(1987) and Berger et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 86:8402-8406 (1989). Another useful vector herein is plasmid pBI101.2 that is available from Clontech Laboratories, Inc. (Palo Alto, Calif.).

[0158] A polynucleotide of the present invention can be expressed in either sense or anti-sense orientation as desired. It will be appreciated that control of gene expression in either sense or anti-sense orientation can have a direct impact on the observable plant characteristics. Antisense technology can be conveniently used to inhibit gene expression in plants. To accomplish this, a nucleic acid segment from the desired gene is cloned and operably linked to a promoter such that the anti-sense strand of RNA will be transcribed. The construct is then transformed into plants and the antisense strand of RNA is produced. In plant cells, it has been shown that antisense RNA inhibits gene expression by preventing the accumulation of mRNA which encodes the enzyme of interest, see, e.g., Sheehy et al., Proc. Nat'l. Acad. Sci (USA) 85:8805-8809 (1988); and Hiatt et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,801,340.

[0159] Another method of suppression is sense suppression. Introduction of nucleic acid configured in the sense orientation has been shown to be an effective means by which to block the transcription of target genes. For an example of the use of this method to modulate expression of endogenous genes see, Napoli et al., The Plant Cell 2:279-289 (1990) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,323.

[0160] Catalytic RNA molecules or ribozymes can also be used to inhibit expression of plant genes. It is possible to design ribozymes that specifically pair with virtually any target RNA and cleave the phosphodiester backbone at a specific location, thereby functionally inactivating the target RNA. In carrying out this cleavage, the ribozyme is not itself altered, and is thus capable of recycling and cleaving other molecules, making it a true enzyme. The inclusion of ribozyme sequences within antisense RNAs confers RNA-cleaving activity upon them, thereby increasing the activity of the constructs. The design and use of target RNA-specific ribozymes is described in Haseloff et al., Nature 334:585-591 (1988).

[0161] A variety of cross-linking agents, alkylating agents and radical generating species as pendant groups on polynucleotides of the present invention can be used to bind, label, detect, and/or cleave nucleic acids. For example, Vlassov, V. V., et al., Nucleic Acids Res (1986) 14:4065-4076, describe covalent bonding of a single-stranded DNA fragment with alkylating derivatives of nucleotides complementary to target sequences. A report of similar work by the same group is that by Knorre, D. G., et al., Biochimie (1985) 67:785-789. Iverson and Dervan also showed sequence-specific cleavage of single-stranded DNA meditated by incorporation of a modified nucleotide which was capable of activating cleavage (J Am Chem Soc (1987) 109:1241-1243). Meyer, R. B. et al., J Am Chem Soc (1989) 111:8517-8519, effect covalent crosslinking to a target nucleotide using an alkylating agent complementary to the single-stranded target nucleotide sequence. A photoactivated crosslinking to single-stranded oligonucleotides meditated by psoralen was disclosed by Lee, B. L., et al., Biochemistry (1988) 27:3197-3203. Use of crosslinking in triple-helix forming probes was also disclosed by Home et al., J. Am Chem Soc (1990) 112:2435-2437. Use of N4, N4-ethanocytosine as an alkylating agent to crosslink to single-stranded oligonucleotides has also been described by Webb and Matteucci, J Am Chem Soc (1986) 108:2764-2765; Nucleic Acids Res (1986) 14:7661-7674; Feteritz et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 113:4000 (1991). Various compounds to bind, detect, label, and/or cleave nucleic acids are known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,543,507; 5,672,593; 5,484,908; 5,256,648; and 5,681,941.

[0162] Proteins

[0163] The isolated proteins of the present invention comprise a polypeptide having at least 10 amino acids encoded by any one of the polynucleotides of the present invention as discussed more fully, above, or polypeptides which are conservatively modified variants thereof. The proteins of the present invention or variants thereof can comprise any number of contiguous amino acid residues from a polypeptide of the present invention, wherein that number is selected from the group of integers consisting of from 10 to the number of residues in a full-length polypeptide of the present invention. Optionally, this subsequence of contiguous amino acids is at least 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, or 40 amino acids in length, often at least 50, 60, 70, 80, or 90 amino acids in length. Further, the number of such subsequences can be any integer selected from the group consisting of from 1 to 20, such as 2, 3, 4, or 5.

[0164] As those of skill will appreciate, the present invention includes catalytically active polypeptides of the present invention (i.e., enzymes). Catalytically active polypeptides have a specific activity of at least 20%, 30%, or 40%, and preferably at least 50%, 60%, or 70%, and most preferably at least 80%, 90%, or 95% that of the native (non-synthetic), endogenous polypeptide. Further, the substrate specificity (k_(cat)/K_(m)) is optionally substantially similar to the native (non-synthetic), endogenous polypeptide. Typically, the K_(m) will be at least 30%, 40%, or 50%, that of the native (non-synthetic), endogenous polypeptide; and more preferably at least 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90%. Methods of assaying and quantifying measures of enzymatic activity and substrate specificity (k_(cat)/K_(m)), are well known to those of skill in the art.

[0165] Generally, the proteins of the present invention will, when presented as an immunogen, elicit production of an antibody specifically reactive to a polypeptide of the present invention. Further, the proteins of the present invention will not bind to antisera raised against a polypeptide of the present invention, which has been fully immunosorbed with the same polypeptide. Immunoassays for determining binding are well known to those of skill in the art. A preferred immunoassay is a competitive immunoassay as discussed, infra. Thus, the proteins of the present invention can be employed as immunogens for constructing antibodies immunoreactive to a protein of the present invention for such exemplary utilities as immunoassays or protein purification techniques.

[0166] Expression of Proteins in Host Cells

[0167] Using the nucleic acids of the present invention, one may express a protein of the present invention in a recombinantly engineered cell such as bacteria, yeast, insect, mammalian, or preferably plant cells. The cells produce the protein in a non-natural condition. (e.g., in quantity, composition, location, and/or time), because they have been genetically altered through human intervention to do so.

[0168] It is expected that those of skill in the art are knowledgeable in the numerous expression systems available for expression of a nucleic acid encoding a protein of the present invention. No attempt to describe in detail the various methods known for the expression of proteins in prokaryotes or eukaryotes will be made.

[0169] In brief summary, the expression of isolated nucleic acids encoding a protein of the present invention will typically be achieved by operably linking, for example, the DNA or cDNA to a promoter (which is either constitutive or regulatable), followed by incorporation into an expression vector. The vectors can be suitable for replication and integration in either prokaryotes or eukaryotes. Typical expression vectors contain transcription and translation terminators, initiation sequences, and promoters useful for regulation of the expression of the DNA encoding a protein of the present invention. To obtain high level expression of a cloned gene, it is desirable to construct expression vectors which contain, at the minimum, a strong promoter to direct transcription, a ribosome binding site for translational initiation, and a transcription/translation terminator. One of skill would recognize that modifications could be made to a protein of the present invention without diminishing its biological activity. Some modifications may be made to facilitate the cloning, expression, or incorporation of the targeting molecule into a fusion protein. Such modifications are well known to those of skill in the art and include, for example, a methionine added at the amino terminus to provide an initiation site, or additional amino acids (e.g., poly His) placed on either terminus to create conveniently located purification sequences. Restriction sites or termination codons can also be introduced.

[0170] A. Expression in Prokaryotes

[0171] Prokaryotic cells may be used as hosts for expression. Prokaryotes most frequently are represented by various strains of E. coli; however, other microbial strains may also be used. Commonly used prokaryotic control sequences which are defined herein to include promoters for transcription initiation, optionally with an operator, along with ribosome binding sequences, include such commonly used promoters as the beta lactamase (penicillinase) and lactose (lac) promoter systems (Chang et al., Nature 198:1056 (1977)), the tryptophan (trp) promoter system (Goeddel et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 8:4057 (1980)) and the lambda derived P L promoter and N-gene ribosome binding site (Shimatake et al., Nature 292:128(1981)). The inclusion of selection markers in DNA vectors transfected in E coli. is also useful. Examples of such markers include genes specifying resistance to ampicillin, tetracycline, or chloramphenicol.

[0172] The vector is selected to allow introduction into the appropriate host cell. Bacterial vectors are typically of plasmid or phage origin. Appropriate bacterial cells are infected with phage vector particles or transfected with naked phage vector DNA. If a plasmid vector is used, the bacterial cells are transfected with the plasmid vector DNA. Expression systems for expressing a protein of the present invention are available using Bacillus sp. and Salmonella (Palva et al., Gene 22: 229-235 (1983); Mosbach, et al., Nature 302:543-545 (1983)).

[0173] B. Expression in Eukaryotes

[0174] A variety of eukaryotic expression systems such as yeast, insect cell lines, plant and mammalian cells, are known to those of skill in the art. As explained briefly below, a polynucleotide of the present invention can be expressed in these eukaryotic systems. In some embodiments, transformed/transfected plant cells, as discussed infra, are employed as expression systems for production of the proteins of the instant invention.

[0175] Synthesis of heterologous proteins in yeast is well known. Sherman, F., et al., Methods in Yeast Genetics, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1982) is a well recognized work describing the various methods available to produce the protein in yeast. Two widely utilized yeasts for production of eukaryotic proteins are Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Pichia pastoris. Vectors, strains, and protocols for expression in Saccharomyces and Pichia are known in the art and available from commercial suppliers (e.g., Invitrogen). Suitable vectors usually have expression control sequences, such as promoters, including 3-phosphoglycerate kinase or alcohol oxidase, and an origin of replication, termination sequences and the like as desired.

[0176] A protein of the present invention, once expressed, can be isolated from yeast by lysine the cells and applying standard protein isolation techniques to the lists. The monitoring of the purification process can be accomplished by using Western blot techniques or radioimmunoassay of other standard immunoassay techniques.

[0177] The sequences encoding proteins of the present invention can also be ligated to various expression vectors for use in transfecting cell cultures of, for instance, mammalian, insect, or plant origin. Illustrative cell cultures useful for the production of the peptides are mammalian cells. Mammalian cell systems often will be in the form of minelayers of cells although mammalian cell suspensions may also be used. A number of suitable host cell lines capable of expressing intact proteins have been developed in the art, and include the HEK293, BHK21, and CHO cell lines. Expression vectors for these cells can include expression control sequences, such as an origin of replication, a promoter (e.g. the CMV promoter, a HSV tk promoter or pgk (phosphoglycerate kinase) promoter), an enhancer (Queen et al., Immunol. Rev. 89:49 (1986)), and necessary processing information sites, such as ribosome binding sites, RNA splice sites, polyadenylation sites (e.g., an SV40 large T Ag poly A addition site), and transcriptional terminator sequences. Other animal cells useful for production of proteins of the present invention are available, for instance, from the American Type Culture Collection.

[0178] Appropriate vectors for expressing proteins of the present invention in insect cells are usually derived from the SF9 baculovirus. Suitable insect cell lines include mosquito larvae, silkworm, armyworm, moth and Drosophila cell lines such as a Schneider cell line (See, Schneider, J. Embryol. Exp. Morphol. 27:353-365 (1987).

[0179] As with yeast, when higher animal or plant host cells are employed, polyadenylation or transcription terminator sequences are typically incorporated into the vector. An example of a terminator sequence is the polyadenylation sequence from the bovine growth hormone gene. Sequences for accurate splicing of the transcript may also be included. An example of a splicing sequence is the VP 1 intron from SV40 (Sprague, et al., J. Virol. 45:773-781 (1983)). Additionally, gene sequences to control replication in the host cell may be incorporated into the vector such as those found in bovine papilloma virus type-vectors. Saveria-Campo, M., Bovine Papilloma Virus DNA a Eukaryotic Cloning Vector in DNA Cloning Vol. II a Practical Approach, D. M. Glover, Ed., IRL Press, Arlington, Virginia pp. 213-238(1985).

[0180] Transfection/Transformation of Cells

[0181] The method of transfortnation/transfection is not critical to the instant invention; various methods of transformation or transfection are currently available. As newer methods are available to transform crops or other host cells they may be directly applied. Accordingly, a wide variety of methods have been developed to insert a DNA sequence into the genome of a host cell to obtain the transcription and/or translation of the sequence to effect phenotypic changes in the organism. Thus, any method, which provides for effective transformation/transfection may be employed.

[0182] A. Plant Transformation

[0183] The genes of the present invention can be used to transform any plant. In this manner, genetically modified plants, plant cells, plant tissue, seed, and the like can be obtained. Transformation protocols may vary depending on the type of plant cell, i.e. monocot or dicot, targeted for transformation. Suitable methods of transforming plant cells include microinjection (Crossway et al., (1986) BioTechniques 4:320-334), electroporation (Riggs et al., (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 83:5602-5606, Agrobacterium mediated transformation (Hinchee et al., (1988) Biotechnology 6:915-921), direct gene transfer (Paszkowski et al., (1984) EMBO J. 3:2717-2722), and ballistic particle acceleration (see, for example, Sanford et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,050; Tomes et al., “Direct DNA Transfer into Intact Plant Cells via Microprojectile Bombardment” In Gamborg and Phillips (Eds.) Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture: Fundamental Methods, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1995); and McCabe et al., (1988) Biotechnology 6:923-926). Also see, Weissinger et al., (1988) Annual Rev. Genet. 22:421-477; Sanford et al., (1987) Particulate Science and Technology 5:27-37 (onion); Christou et al., (1988) Plant Physiol. 87:671-674 (soybean); McCabe et al., (1988) Bio/Technology 6:923-926 (soybean); Datta et al., (1990) Biotechnology 8:736-740 (rice); Klein et al., (1988) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:4305-4309 (maize); Klein et al., (1988) Biotechnology 6:559-563 (maize); Tomes et al., “Direct DNA Transfer into Intact Plant Cells via Microprojectile Bombardment” in Gamborg and Phillips (Eds.) Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture: Fundamental Methods, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1995) (maize); Klein et al., (1988) Plant Physiol. 91:440-444 (maize) Fromm et al., (1990) Biotechnology 8:833-839 (maize); Hooydaas-Van Slogteren & Hooykaas (1984) Nature (London) 311:763-764; Bytebier et al., (1987) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84:5345-5349 (Liliaceae); De Wet et al., (1985) In The Experimental Manipulation of Ovule Tissues ed. G. P. Chapman et al., pp. 197-209. Longman, N.Y. (pollen); Kaeppler et al., (1990) Plant Cell Reports 9:415-418; and Kaeppler et al., (1992) Theor. Appl. Genet. 84:560-566 (whisker-meditated transformation); D-'Halluin et al., (1992) Plant Cell 4:1495-1505 (electroporation); LI et al., (1993) Plant Cell Reports 12:250-255 and Christou and Ford (1995) Annals of Botany 75:745-750 (maize via Agrobacterium tumefaciens); all of which are herein incorporated by reference.

[0184] The cells, which have been transformed, may be grown into plants in accordance with conventional ways. See, for example, McCormick et al. (1986) Plant Cell Reports, 5:81-84. These plants may then be grown, and either pollinated with the same transformed strain or different strains, and the resulting hybrid having the desired phenotypic characteristic identified. Two or more generations may be grown to ensure that the subject phenotypic characteristics is stably maintained and inherited and then seeds harvested to ensure the desired phenotype or other property has been achieved. One of skill will recognize that after the recombinant expression cassette is stably incorporated in transgenic plants and confirmed to be operable, it can be introduced into other plants by sexual crossing. Any of number of standard breeding techniques can be used, depending upon the species to be crossed.

[0185] In vegetatively propagated crops, mature transgenic plants can be propagated by the taking of cuttings or by tissue culture techniques to produce multiple identical plants. Selection of desirable transgenics is made and new varieties are obtained and propagated vegetatively for commercial use. In seed propagated crops, mature transgenic plants can be self crossed to produce a homozygous inbred plant. The inbred plant produces seed containing the newly introduced heterologous nucleic acid. These seeds can be grown to produce plans that would produce the selected phenotype.

[0186] Parts obtained from the regenerated plant, such as flowers, seeds, leaves, branches, fruit, and the like are included in the invention, provided that these parts comprise cells comprising the isolated nucleic acid of the present invention. Progeny and variants, and mutants of the regenerated plants are also included within the scope of the invention, provided that these parts comprise the introduced nucleic acid sequences.

[0187] A preferred embodiment is a transgenic plant that is homozygous for the added heterologous nucleic acid; i.e., a transgenic plant that contains two added nucleic acid sequences, one gene at the same locus on each chromosome of a chromosome pair. A homozygous transgenic plant can be obtained by sexually mating(selling) a heterozygous transgenic plant that contains a single added heterologous nucleic acid, germinating some of the seed produced and analyzing the resulting plants produced for altered expression of a polynucleotide of the present invention relative to a control plant (i.e., native, non-transgenic). Backcrossing to a parental plant and out-crossing with a non-transgenic plant are also contemplated.

[0188] B. Transfection of Prokaryotes, Lower Eukaryotes, and Animal Cells

[0189] Animal and lower eukaryotic (e.g., yeast) host cells are competent or rendered competent for transfection by various means. There are several well-known methods of introducing DNA into animal cells. These include: calcium phosphate precipitation, fusion of the recipient cells with bacterial protoplasts containing the DNA, treatment of the recipient cells with liposomes containing the DNA, DEAE dextrin, electroporation, biolistics, and micro-injection of the DNA directly into the cells. The transfected cells are cultured by means well known in the art. Kuchler, R. J., Biochemical Methods in Cell Culture and Virology, Dowden, Hutchinson and Ross, Inc (1997).

[0190] The WRKY Transcriptional Regulatory Region

[0191] The transcriptional region for WRKY genes may be generally isolated from the 5′ untranslated region flanking their respective transcription initiation sites. Methods for isolation of transcriptional regulatory regions are well known in the art. By “isolated” is intended that the transcriptional regulatory region sequences have been determined and can be extracted by molecular techniques or synthesized by chemical means. In either instance, the transcriptional regulatory region is removed from at least one of its flanking sequences in its native state. The sequence for the transcriptional regulatory region of sunflower WRKY1-2 can be found in SEQ ID NO: 35.

[0192] It is recognized that regions in addition to the transcriptional regulatory region may be used to initiate transcription. Such regions include the UTR and even portions of the coding sequence particularly 5′ portions of the coding region. Generally, from about 3 nucleotides (1 codon) up to about 150 nucleotides (50 codons) of the 5′ coding region can be used. See, for example, McElroy et al. (1991) Mol Gen. Genet. 231: 150-160 and herein incorporated by reference, where expression vectors were constructed based on the rice actin 1 5′ region.

[0193] Comparable transcriptional regulatory regions from other plants may be obtained by utilization of the coding or promoter sequences of the invention. Using the WRKY coding sequences, other WRKY transcriptional regulatory regions can be isolated by obtaining regions 5′ to the regions of homology.

[0194] Methods are readily available in the art for the hybridization of nucleic acid sequences. Promoter sequences from other plants may be isolated according to well-known techniques based on their sequence homology to the promoter sequences set forth herein. In these techniques, all or part of the known transcriptional regulatory region sequence is used as a probe, which selectively hybridizes to other sequences present in a population of cloned genomic DNA, fragments (i.e.genomic libraries) from a chosen organism.

[0195] For example, the entire transcriptional regulatory region or portions thereof may be used as probes capable of specifically hybridizing to corresponding promoter sequences. To achieve specific hybridization under a variety of conditions, such probes include sequences that are unique and are preferably at least about 10 nucleotides in length, and most preferably at least about 20 nucleotides in length. Such probes may be used to amplify corresponding promoter sequences from a chosen organism by the well-known process of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This technique may be used to isolate additional promoter sequences from a desired organism or as a diagnostic assay to determine the presence of the promoter sequence in an organism. Such techniques include hybridization screening of plated DNA libraries (either plaques or colonies; see e.g. Innis et al. (1990) PCR Protocols. A Guide to Methods and Applications, eds., Academic Press).

[0196] The isolated transcriptional regulatory region of the present invention can be modified to provide for a range of expression levels of the heterologous nucleotide sequence. Thus, less than the entire region may be utilized and the ability to drive pathogen or chemical-inducible expression retained. However, it is recognized that expression levels of mRNA may be altered and usually decreased with deletions of portions of the region. Generally, at least about 20 nucleotides of an isolated region will be used to drive expression of a nucleotide sequence.

[0197] It is recognized that to increase transcription levels enhancers may be utilized in combination with the promoter regions of the invention. Enhancers are nucleotide sequences that act to increase the expression of a promoter region. Enhancers are known in the art. For example, the enhancer from the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter has been isolated.

[0198] Modifications of the isolated transcriptional regulatory region of the present invention can provide for a range of expression of the heterologous nucleotide sequence. Thus, they may be modified to be weak promoters or strong promoters. Generally, by “weak promoter” is intended a promoter that drives expression of a coding sequence at a low level. By “low level” is intended at levels of about {fraction (1/10,000)} transcripts to about {fraction (1/100,000)} transcripts to about {fraction (1/500,000)} transcripts. Conversely, a strong promoter drives expression of a coding sequence at a high level, or at about {fraction (1/10)} transcripts to about {fraction (1/100)} transcripts to about {fraction (1/1000)} transcripts.

[0199] The nucleotide sequences for the transcriptional regulatory region of the present invention may be the naturally occurring sequences or sequences having substantial homology. By “substantial homology” is intended a sequence exhibiting substantial functional and structural equivalence with the naturally occurring sequence. Any structural differences between substantially homologous sequences do not affect the ability of the sequence to function as a promoter as disclosed in the present invention. Thus, sequences having substantial sequence homology with the sequence of the transcriptional regulatory region of the present invention will direct expression during pathogen infection or chemical induction of an operably linked heterologous nucleotide sequence. Two transcriptional regulatory nucleotide sequences are considered substantially homologous when they have at least about 70%, preferably at least about 80%, more preferably at least about 90%, still more preferably at least about 95% sequence homology. Substantially homologous sequences of the present invention include variants of the disclosed sequences such as those that result from site-directed mutagenesis, as well as synthetically derived sequences.

[0200] Substantially homologous sequences of the present invention also refer to those fragments of a particular promoter nucleotide sequence disclosed herein that operate to promote the pathogen or chemical-inducible expression of an operably linked heterologous nucleotide sequence. These fragments will comprise at least about 20 contiguous nucleotides, or preferably 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 or 1000 nucleotides of the transcriptional regulatory region of the present invention. Such fragments may be obtained by use of restriction enzymes to cleave the naturally occurring promoter nucleotide sequences disclosed herein; by synthesizing a nucleotide sequence from the naturally occurring promoter DNA sequence; or may be obtained through the use of PCR technology. See particularly, Mullis et al. (1987) Methods Enzymol 155: 335-350, and Erlich, ed. (1989) PCR Technology (Stockton Press, New York). Again, variants of these transcriptional regulatory region fragments, such as those resulting from site-directed mutagenesis, are encompassed by the compositions of the present invention.

[0201] Nucleotide sequences comprising at least about 20 contiguous nucleotides of the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 35 are encompassed. These sequences may be isolated by hybridization, PCR, and the like. Such sequences encompass fragments capable of driving developmentally regulated expression, fragments useful as probes to identify similar sequences, as well as elements responsible for temporal or tissue specificity. Biologically active variants of the promoter sequences are also encompassed by the method of the present invention. Such variants should retain promoter activity, particularly the ability to drive expression during flowering. Biologically active variants include, for example, the native promoter sequences of the invention having one or more nucleotide substitutions, deletions or insertions. Promoter activity may be measured by Northern blot analysis, reporter activity measurements when using transcriptional fusions, and the like. See, for example, Sambrook et al. (1989) Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (2^(nd) ed. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), herein incorporated by reference.

[0202] The coding sequence expressed by the transcriptional regulatory region of the invention may be used for expressing proteins during pathogen infection or upon chemical induction with compounds such as oxalic acid or salicylic acid. The affect of various expressed proteins of interest include but are not limited to resistance to insects, resistance to disease, resistance to stress, agronomic traits and the like.

[0203] These results can be achieved by providing expression of heterologous or increased expression of endogenous products in the plant. Alternatively, the results can be achieved by providing for a reduction of expression of one or more endogenous products, particularly enzymes and cofactors in the plant. These changes result in a change in phenotype of the transformed plant. For example, the transcriptional regulatory regions of the invention can be used to express degradative enzymes that are degrade toxins used by pathogens for invasion of a plant. Alternatively, the transcriptional regulatory sequences of the invention can be used to produce antisense mRNA complementary to the coding sequence of an essential protein, inhibit production of a native protein that is required or promotes pathogen invasion.

[0204] General categories of genes of interest for the purposes of the present invention include for example, those genes involved in information, such as Zinc fingers, those involved in communication, such as kinases, and those involved in housekeeping, such as heat shock proteins. It is recognized that the genes of interest depend on the exact specificity of the WRKY transcriptional regulatory region.

[0205] More specific categories of transgenes, for example, include genes involved in flowering; genes involved in resistance to disease, pesticides and insect pests. It is recognized that any gene of interest can be operably linked to the promoter of the inventions and expressed during pathogen infection or upon chemical induction.

[0206] Genes involved in resistance to insects may encode resistance to insect pests such as second generation corn borer (Ostinia nubilalis) and adult rootworm beetle (Diabrotica virgifera). Such genes include, for example, Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxin genes (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,366,892; 5,747,450; 5,737,514; 5,723,756; 5,593,881; Geiser et al., Gene 48:109 (1986); lectins (Van Damme et al., Cell 78:1089 (1994); and the like.

[0207] Gene encoding resistance to disease traits may include detoxification genes, against fumonisin (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,792,931 and 5,716,820); oxalate decarboxylase (PCT patent publication No. 98/42827); oxalate oxidase (PCT publication No. WO 92/14824 and PCT publication WO 92/15685); glucose oxidase (U.S. Pat. No. 5,516,671); avirulence (avr) and disease resistance (R) genes (Jones et al., Science 266:789 (1994); Martin et al., Science 262:1432 (1993); Mindrinos et al., Cell 78:1089 (1994)); and the like.

[0208] Exogenous products include plant enzymes and products as well as those from other sources including prokaryotes and other eukaryotes. Such products include enzymes, cofactors, hormones, and the like.

[0209] The heterologous nucleotide sequence operably linked to one of the promoters disclosed herein may be an antisense sequence for a targeted gene. By “antisense DNA nucleotide sequence” is intended a sequence that is in inverse orientation to the 5′-to-3′ normal orientation of that nucleotide sequence. When delivered into a plant cell, expression of the antisense DNA sequence prevents normal expression of the DNA nucleotide sequence for the targeted gene. The antisense nucleotide sequence encodes an RNA transcript that is complementary to and capable of hybridizing to the endogenous messenger RNA (mRNA) produced by transcription of the DNA nucleotide sequence for the targeted gene. In this case, production of the native protein encoded by the targeted gene is invited to achieve a desired phenotypic response. Thus, the promoter sequences disclosed herein may be operably linked to antisense DNA sequence to reduce or inhibit expression of a native protein in the plant.

[0210] Modulating polypeptide Levels and/or Composition

[0211] The present invention further provides a method for modulating (i.e., increasing or decreasing) the concentration or composition of the polypeptides of the present invention in a plant or part thereof. Increasing or decreasing the concentration and/or the composition (i.e., the ratio of the polypeptides of the present invention) in a plant can effect modulation. The method comprised introducing into a plant cell with a recombinant expression cassette comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention as described above to obtain a transformed plant cell, culturing the transformed plant cell under plant cell growing conditions, and inducing or repressing expression of a polynucleotide of the present invention in the plant for a time sufficient to modulate concentration and/or composition in the plant or plant part.

[0212] In some embodiments, the content and/or composition of polypeptides of the present invention in a plant may be modulated by altering, in vivo or in vitro, the promoter of a gene to up- or down-regulate gene expression. In some embodiments, the coding regions of native genes of the present invention can be altered via substitution, addition, insertion, or deletion to decrease activity of the encoded enzyme. See, e.g., Kmiec, U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,350; Zarling et al., PCT/US93/03868. And in some embodiments, an isolated nucleic acid (e.g., a vector) comprising a promoter sequence is transfected into a plant cell. Subsequently, a plant cell comprising the promoter operably linked to a polynucleotide of the present invention is selected for by means known to those of skill in the art such as, but not limited to, Southern blot, DNA sequencing, or PCR analysis using primers specific to the promoter and to the gene and detecting amplicons produced therefrom. A plant or plant part altered or modified by the foregoing embodiments is grown under plant forming conditions for a time sufficient to modulate the concentration and/or composition of polypeptides of the present invention in the plant. Plant forming conditions are well known in the art and discussed briefly, supra.

[0213] In general, concentration or composition is increased or decreased by at least 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% relative to a native control plant, plant part, or cell lacking the aforementioned recombinant expression cassette. Modulation in the present invention may occur during and/or subsequent to growth of the plant to the desired stage of development. Modulating nucleic acid expression temporally and/or in particular tissues can be controlled by employing the appropriate promoter operably linked to a polynucleotide of the present invention in, for example, sense or antisense orientation as discussed in greater detail, supra Induction of expression of a polynucleotide of the present invention can also be controlled by exogenous administration of an effective amount of inducing compound. Inducible promoters and inducing compounds, which activate expression from these promoters, are well known in the art. In preferred embodiments, the polypeptides of the present invention are modulated in monocots, particularly maize.

[0214] Molecular Markers

[0215] The present invention provides a method of genotyping a plant comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention. Optionally, the plant is a monocot, such as maize or sorghum. Genotyping provides a means of distinguishing homologs of a chromosome pair and can be used to differentiate segregants in a plant population. Molecular marker methods can be used for phylogenetic studies, characterizing genetic relationships among crop varieties, identifying crosses or somatic hybrids, localizing chromosomal segments affecting monogenic traits, map based cloning, and the study of quantitative inheritance. See, e.g., Plant Molecular Biology: A Laboratory Manual, Chapter 7, Clark, Ed., Springer-Verlag, Berlin (1997). For molecular marker methods, see generally, The DNA Revolution by Andrew H. Paterson 1996 (Chapter 2) in: Genome Mapping in plants (ed. Andrew H. Paterson) by Academic Press/R. G. Lands Company, Austin, Tex., pp. 7-21.

[0216] The particular method of genotyping in the present invention may employ any number of molecular marker analytic techniques such as, but not limited to, restriction fragment length polymorphism's (RFLPs). RFLPs are the product of allelic differences between DNA restriction fragments resulting from nucleotide sequence variability. As is well known to those of skill in the art, RFLPs are typically detected by extraction of genomic DNA and digestion with a restriction enzyme. Generally, the resulting fragments are separated according to size and hybridized with a probe; single copy probes are preferred. Restriction fragments from homologous chromosomes are revealed. Differences in fragment size among alleles represent an RFLP. Thus, the present invention further provides a means to follow segregation of a gene or nucleic acid of the present invention as well as chromosomal sequences genetically linked to these genes or nucleic acids using such techniques as RFLP analysis. Linked chromosomal sequences are within 50 centiMorgans (cM), often within 40 or 30 cM, preferably within 20 or 10 cM, more preferably within 5, 3, 2, or 1 cM of a gene of the present invention.

[0217] In the present invention, the nucleic acid probes employed for molecular marker mapping of plant nuclear genomes selectively hybridize, under selective hybridization conditions, to a gene encoding a polynucleotide of the present invention. In preferred embodiments, the probes are selected from polynucleotides of the present invention. Typically, these probes are cDNA probes or restriction enzyme treated (e.g., PST 1) genomic clones. The length of the probes is discussed in greater detail, supra, but is typically at least 15 bases in length, more preferably at least 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, or 50 bases in length. Generally, however, the probes are less than about 1 kilobase in length. Preferably, the probes are single copy probes that hybridize to a unique locus in haploid chromosome compliment. Some exemplary restriction enzymes employed in RFLP mapping are EcoRI, EcoRv, and SstI. As used herein the term “restriction enzyme” includes reference to a composition that recognizes and, alone or in conjunction with another composition, cleaves at a specific nucleotide sequence.

[0218] The method of detecting an RFLP comprises the steps of (a) digesting genomic DNA of a plant with a restriction enzyme; (b) hybridizing a nucleic acid probe, under selective hybridization conditions, to a sequence of a polynucleotide of the present of said genomic DNA; (c) detecting therefrom a RFLP. Other methods of differentiating polymorphic (allelic) variants of polynucleotides of the present invention can be had by utilizing molecular marker techniques well known to those of skill in the art including such techniques as: 1) single stranded conformation analysis (SSCA); 2) denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE); 3) RNase protection assays; 4) allele-specific oligonucleotides (ASOs); 5) the use of proteins which recognize nucleotide mismatches, such as the E. coli mutS protein; and 6) allele-specific PCR. Other approaches based on the detection of mismatches between the two complementary DNA strands include clamped denaturing gel electrophoresis (CDGE); heteroduplex analysis (HA); and chemical mismatch cleavage (CMC). Thus, the present invention further provides a method of genotyping comprising the steps of contacting, under stringent hybridization conditions, a sample suspected of comprising a polynucleotide of the present invention with a nucleic acid probe. Generally, the sample is a plant sample, preferably, a sample suspected of comprising a maize polynucleotide of the present invention (e.g., gene, mRNA). The nucleic acid probe selectively hybridizes, under stringent conditions, to a subsequence of a polynucleotide of the present invention comprising a polymorphic marker. Selective hybridization of the nucleic acid probe to the polymorphic marker nucleic acid sequence yields a hybridization complex. Detection of the hybridization complex indicates the presence of that polymorphic marker in the sample. In preferred embodiments, the nucleic acid probe comprises a polynucleotide of the present invention.

[0219] UTRs and Codon Preference

[0220] In general, translational efficiency has been found to be regulated by specific sequence elements in the 5′ non-coding or untranslated region (5′ UTR) of the RNA. Positive sequence motifs include translational initiation consensus sequences (Kozak, Nucleic Acids Res 15:8125 (1987)) and the 7-methylguanosine cap structure (Drummond et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 13:7375 (1985)). Negative elements include stable intramolecular 5′ UTR stem-loop structures (Muesing et al., Cell 48:691 (1987)) and AUG sequences or short open reading frames preceded by an appropriate AUG in the 5′ UTR (Kozak, supra, Rao et al., Mol. and Cell. Biol. 8:284 (1988)). Accordingly, the present invention provides 5′ and/or 3′ UTR regions for modulation of translation of heterologous coding sequences.

[0221] Further, the polypeptide-encoding segments of the polynucleotides of the present invention can be modified to alter codon usage. Altered codon usage can be employed to alter translational efficiency and/or to optimize the coding sequence for expression in a desired host such as to optimize the codon usage in a heterologous sequence for expression in maize. Codon usage in the coding regions of the polynucleotides of the present invention can be analyzed statistically using commercially available software packages such as “Codon Preference” available form the University of Wisconsin Genetics Computer Group (see Devereaux et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 12:387-395 (1984)) or MacVector 4.1 (Eastman Kodak Co., New Haven, Conn.). Thus, the present invention provides a codon usage frequency characteristic of the coding region of at least one of the polynucleotides of the present invention. The number of polynucleotides that can be used to determine a codon usage frequency can be any integer from 1 to the number of polynucleotides of the present invention as provided herein. Optionally, the polynucleotides will be full-length sequences. An exemplary number of sequences for statistical analysis can be at least 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, or 100.

[0222] Sequence Shuffling

[0223] The present invention provides methods for sequence shuffling using polynucleotides of the present invention, and compositions resulting therefrom. Sequence shuffling is described in PCT publication No. WO 96/19256. See also, Zhang, J. -H., et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94:4504-4509 (1997). Generally, sequence shuffling provides a means for generating libraries of polynucleotides having a desired characteristic, which can be selected or screened for. Libraries of recombinant polynucleotides are generated from a population of related sequence polynucleotides, which comprise sequence regions, which have substantial identity and can be homologously recombined in vitro or in vivo. The population of sequence-recombined polynucleotides comprises a subpopulation of polynucleotides which possess desired or advantageous characteristics and which can be selected by a suitable selection or screening method. The characteristics can be any property or attribute capable of being selected for or detected in a screening system, and may include properties of: an encoded protein, a transcriptional element, a sequence controlling transcription, RNA processing, RNA stability, chromatin conformation, translation, or other expression property of a gene or transgene, a replicative element, a protein-binding element, or the like, such as any feature which confers a selectable or detectable property. In some embodiments, the selected characteristic will be a decreased K_(m) and/or increased K_(cat) over the wild-type protein as provided herein. In other embodiments, a protein or polynucleotide generated from sequence shuffling will have a ligand binding affinity greater than the non-shuffled wild-type polynucleotide. The increase in such properties can be at least 110%, 120%, 130%, 140%, or at least 150% of the wild-type value.

[0224] Generic and Consensus Sequences

[0225] Polynucleotides and polypeptides of the present invention further include those having: (a) a generic sequence of at least two homologous polynucleotides or polypeptides, respectively, of the present invention; and, (b) a consensus sequence of at least three homologous polynucleotides or polypeptides, respectively, of the present invention. The generic sequence of the present invention comprises each species of polypeptide or polynucleotide embraced by the generic polypeptide or polynucleotide, sequence, respectively. The individual species encompassed by a polynucleotide having an amino acid or nucleic acid consensus sequence can be used to generate antibodies or produce nucleic acid probes or primers to screen for homologs in other species, genera, families, orders, classes, phylums, or kingdoms. For example, a polynucleotide having a consensus sequence from a gene family of Zea mays can be used to generate antibody or nucleic acid probes or primers to other Gramineae species such as wheat, rice, or sorghum. Alternatively, a polynucleotide having a consensus sequence generated from orthologous genes can be used to identify or isolate orthologs of other taxa. Typically, a polynucleotide having a consensus sequence will be at least 9, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, or 40 amino acids in length, or 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, or 150 nucleotides in length. As those of skill in the art are aware, a conservative amino acid substitution can be used for amino acids, which differ amongst aligned sequence but are from the same conservative amino substitution group as discussed above. Optionally, no more than 1 or 2 conservative amino acids are substituted for each 10 amino acid length of consensus sequence.

[0226] Similar sequences used for generation of a consensus or generic sequence include any number and combination of allelic variants of the same gene, orthologous, or paralogous sequences as provided herein. Optionally, similar sequences used in generating a consensus or generic sequence are identified using the BLAST algorithm's smallest sum probability (P(N)). Various suppliers of sequence-analysis software are listed in chapter 7 of Current Protocols in Molecular Biology, F. M. Ausubel et al., Eds. Current Protocols, a joint venture between Greene Publishing Associates, Inc. and John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (Supplement 30). A polynucleotide sequence is considered similar to a reference sequence if the smallest sum probability in a comparison of the test nucleic acid to the reference nucleic acid is less then about 0.1, more preferably less than about 0.01, or 0.001, and most preferably less than about 0.0001, or 0.00001. Similar polynucleotides can be aligned and a consensus or generic sequence generated using multiple sequence alignment software available from a number of commercial suppliers such as the Genetics Computer Group's (Madison, Wis.) PILEUP software, Vector NTI's (North Bethesda, Md.) ALIGNX, or Genecode's (Ann Arbor, Mich.) SEQUENCER. Conveniently, default parameters of such software can be used to generate consensus or generic sequences.

[0227] Use of Subsequences of WRKY Polynucleotides

[0228] As previously discussed, WRKY polynucleotides have conserved domains. The binding specificity of the WRKY domains is a hallmark of a specific set of promoters that a particular WRKY interacts with. Therefore, a subsequence of a WRKY polynucleotide could be utilized in the following manner.

[0229] First, a subsequence of WRKY could be expressed in an expression system (please see the section entitled “Expression of Proteins in Host Cells”), such as an E. coli expression system. The ability of the expressed protein could then be tested for its ability to bind target DNA in a gel shift experiment or other interaction assay. Either specific candidate promoter DNA or total genomic DNA could be used in the experiment.

[0230] Alternatively, a subsequence of a WRKY polynucleotide could be fused in frame to an N-terminal DNA activation domain, such as, but not limited to, a myb or myc homolog or the activation domain of another WRKY. The fusion polynucleotide would then be expressed in an expression system, such as, but not limited to, a transient or stable plant expression system. Specific promoters could then be identified or global transcript profiling could be used to identify genes and their associated promoters that respond to the WRKY domain/activation domain fusion.

[0231] Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modifications may be practices within the scope of the appended claims.

EXAMPLE 1 Isolation of Maize ZmWRKY3-1 cDNA

[0232] Using the techniques described above a partial sequence of a homolog of parsley WRKY3 was found in a maize cDNA library. A cDNA library was made from mRNA isolated from maize cells. The maize cells were treated with water or 1×10⁶ spores/ml of Fusarium moniliforme. Cells were harvested 2 and 6 hours after treatment. Total RNA was isolated using Tri-Reagent™ and mRNA was isolated using PolyAtract™ (Promega). Zap-cDNA synthesis kit (Stratagene) was used to prepare cDNA, which was cloned into HybriZap® (Stratagene). The primary library was amplified and phagemid was excised from the secondary library. The phagemid prep was amplified in XLOLR cells and purified (Qiagen). All library manipulations were performed according to the HybriZap® manual.

[0233] The full-length sequence was cloned from the lambda cDNA library screen using typical plaque hybridization techniques found in Sambrook et al., Molecular Cloning—A Laboratory Manual, 2nd ed., Vol. 1-3 (1989). The nucleic acid sequence and amino acid sequence of ZmWRKY3-1 can be found in SEQ ID NOS: 1 and 2, respectively.

[0234] Gene identities can be determined by conducting BLAST (Basic Local Alignment Search Tool; Altschul, S. F., et al., (1993) J. Mol. Biol. 215:403-410; see also www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/BLAST/) searches under default parameters for similarity to sequences contained in the BLAST “nr” database (comprising all non-redundant GenBank CDS translations, sequences derived from the 3-dimensional structure Brookhaven Protein Data Bank, the last major release of the SWISS-PROT protein sequence database, EMBL, and DDBJ databases). The cDNA sequences are analyzed for similarity to all publicly available DNA sequences contained in the “nr” database using the BLASTN algorithm. The DNA sequences are translated in all reading frames and compared for similarity to all publicly available protein sequences contained in the “nr” database using the BLASTX algorithm (Gish, W. and States, D. J. Nature Genetics 3:266-272 (1993)) provided by the NCBI. In some cases, the sequencing data from two or more clones containing overlapping segments of DNA are used to construct contiguous DNA sequences.

[0235] Additional maize WRKY sequences were identified from a cDNA library generated and sequenced as described below. Total RNA was isolated from corn tissues with TRIzol Reagent (Life Technology Inc. Gaithersburg, Md.) using a modification of the guanidine isothiocyanate/acid-phenol procedure described by Chomczynski and Sacchi (Chomczynski, P., and Sacchi, N. Anal. Biochem. 162, 156 (1987)). In brief, plant tissue samples were pulverized in liquid nitrogen before the addition of the TRIzol Reagent, and then were further homogenized with a mortar and pestle. Addition of chloroform followed by centrifugation was conducted for separation of an aqueous phase and an organic phase. The total RNA was recovered by precipitation with isopropyl alcohol from the aqueous phase.

[0236] The selection of poly(A)+ RNA from total RNA was performed using PolyATact system (Promega Corporation, Madison Wis.). In brief, biotinylated oligo(dT) primers were used to hybridize to the 3′ poly(A) tails on mRNA. The hybrids were captured using streptavidin coupled to paramagnetic particles and a magnetic separation stand. The mRNA was washed at high stringent condition and eluted by RNase-free deionized water.

[0237] cDNA synthesis was performed and unidirectional cDNA libraries were constructed using the SuperScript Plasmid System (Life Technology Inc. Gaithersburg, Md.). The first strand of cDNA was synthesized by priming an oligo(dT) primer containing a Not I site. The reaction was catalyzed by SuperScript reverse Transcriptase II at 45° C. The second strand of cDNA was labeled with alpha-³²P-dCTP and a portion of the reaction was analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis to determine cDNA sizes. cDNA molecules smaller than 500 base pairs and unligated adaptors were removed by Sephacryl-S400 chromatography. The selected cDNA molecules were ligated into a pSPORT1 vector between the NotI and SalI sites.

[0238] Individual colonies were picked and DNA was prepared either by PCR with Ml 3 forward primers and M13 reverse primers, or by plasmid isolation. All the cDNA clones were sequenced using M13 reverse primers.

[0239] cDNA libraries subjected to the subtraction procedure were plated out on 22×22 cm² agar plate at density of about 3,000 colonies per plate. The plates were incubated in a 37° C. incubator for 12-24 hours. Colonies were picked into 384-well plates by a robot colony picker, Q-bot (GENETIX Limited). These plates were incubated overnight at 37° C.

[0240] Once sufficient colonies were picked, they were pinned onto 22×22 cm² nylon membranes using Q-bot. Each membrane contained 9,216 colonies or 36,864 colonies. These membranes were placed onto agar plate with appropriate antibiotic. The plates were incubated at 37° C. for overnight.

[0241] After colonies were recovered on the second day, these filters were placed on filter paper prewetted with denaturing solution for four minutes, then were incubated on top of a boiling water bath for additional four minutes. The filters were then placed on filter paper prewetted with neutralizing solution for four minutes. After excess solution was removed by placing the filters on dry filter papers for one minute, the colony site of the filters were placed into Proteinase K solution, incubated at 37° C. for 40-50 minutes. The filters were placed on dry filter papers to dry overnight. DNA was then cross-linked to nylon membrane by UV light treatment.

[0242] Colony hybridization was conducted as described by Sambrook, J., Fritsch, E. F. and Maniatis, T., (in Molecular Cloning: A laboratory Manual, 2^(nd) Edition). The following probes were used in colony hybridization:

[0243] 1. First strand cDNA from the same tissue as the library was made from to remove the most redundant clones.

[0244] 2. 48-192 most redundant cDNA clones from the same library based on previous sequencing data.

[0245] 3. 192 most redundant cDNA clones in the entire corn sequence database.

[0246] 4. A Sal-A20 oligo nucleotide TCG ACC CAC GCG TCC GAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA, (SEQ ID NO: 36) removes clones containing a poly A tail but no cDNA.

[0247] 5. cDNA clones derived from rRNA.

[0248] The image of the autoradiography was scanned into computer and the signal intensity and cold colony addresses of each colony was analyzed, re-arraying of cold-colonies from 384 well plates to 96 well plates was conducted using Q-bot. The cDNA sequence information generated from the cDNA library was then analyzed by BLAST to find additional maize WRKY polynucleotides.

[0249] The following maize WRKY polynucleotides were found as described above. ZmWRKY1-1 polynucleotide is shown in SEQ ID NO: 37. The protein translation of ZmWRKY1-1 is shown in SEQ ID NO: 38. The ZmWRKY1-2 polynucleotide is shown in SEQ ID NO: 39. The ZmWRKY2-2 polynucleotide is shown in SEQ ID NO: 40. The ZmWRKY3-3 polynucleotide is shown in SEQ ID NO: 41. The ZmWRKY3-4 polynucleotide is shown in SEQ ID NO: 42. The ZmWRKY3-5 polynucleotide is shown in SEQ ID NO: 43.

[0250] Northern Blot Assay

[0251] The mRNA steady-state level of maize WRKY1 and WRKY3 were studied after treatment with Fusarium moniliforme spores. Mid-log maize GS3 suspension cell cultures (75 ml) were treated with 1 ml of Fusarium spores to give a concentration of 1,000,000 spores/ml. Control cultures were treated with 1 ml of water. The cultures were harvested at 0, 1, and 3 hours post-treatment. RNA was extracted and Northern Blot analysis was performed according to Church, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81:1991-1995 (1984). The blots were probed with DNA that was either ZmWRKY1-(SEQ ID NO: 37) or ZmWRKY3-1 (SEQ ID NO: 1). At 1 and 3 hours post-treatment there was a significant induction of both ZmWRKY1-1 and ZmWRKY3-1, substantiating the role of ZmWRKY1-1 and ZmWRKY3-1 in a plants response to pathogen infection.

[0252] Transgenic Evaluation of ZmWRKY3-1

[0253] The promoter region of ZmPR-1 gene (PCT Publication WO 99/43819) was fused with the coding sequence of a β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene resulting in a molecular marker construct (ZmPR-1::GUS). The coding sequences of ZmNPR1 (PCT Publication number WO 00/65037) and ZmWRKY3-1 driven by the ubiquitin promoter were employed as regulator constructs (Ubi::ZmNPR1 and Ubi::ZmWRKY3). Act::luciferase (rice actin promoter (U.S. Pat. No. 5,641,876) operably linked to the luciferase gene from the Promega Dual-luciferase reporter assay system) was used as an internal standard for normalization of the variation inherent in bombardment. A DNA carrier construct was also included to maintain uniform DNA concentrations.

[0254] Maize immature embryos (IE) were co-bombarded with the marker construct and either the DNA carrier construct or the regulator construct. The internal standard was also included in all bombardments. Mixture of DNA from 20 μl of ZmPR-1::GUS at 0.05 μg/μl, 5 μl of the regulator or carrier DNA (1.0 μg/μl), and 10 μl of Act::luciferase at 0.1 μg/μl were co-precipitated with 70 μl of 2.5 M CaC1₂ and 20 μl of 0.1 M spermidine onto 50 μl of tungsten particles (1.0 μm at a particle density of 15 mg/ml). For each bombardment, 45 IEs were placed on a high osmotic medium (12 g/L sucrose) plate for 4 hours before the bombardment. After the bombardment the IEs were placed in culture on the same osmotic medium for 24 hours and then divided into three groups. One group was cultured on a piece of filter paper wetted with the same osmotic medium without any addition of signal molecules as a control and the other two were cultured under the same condition but the medium contained either 1 mM SA or 0.1 mM JA. All IEs were cultured for another 24 hours.

[0255] Three IEs from each group were histochemically stained in X-Gluc staining solution for overnight at 37° C. The rest of the IEs were subjected to GUS fluorometric and luciferase assays. Fluorometric measurements of GUS activity were performed by using 50 μl protein extract prepared from the 12 IEs of each treatment and quantified in Fluoroskan Ascent FL (Labsystem) for two time points, 10 and 30 min. Luciferase activity was quantified in a Monolight 2010 (Analytical Luminescence Lab) by mixing 20 μl of protein extract with 100 μl of reaction buffer (Dual-Luciferase Reporter Assay System, Promega) and taking the measurements after 10 seconds. To normalize promoter/marker activity, the GUS value detected in each sample was divided by the luciferase value obtained in the same bombarded sample treated without signal molecules.

[0256] It has been established in Arabidopsis that SA and NPR1 are two key regulators that activate the SA-dependent SAR response. Both histochemical and fluorometric GUS assay results showed that ZmPR-1::GUS expression was induced by more than 3-fold by SA treatment alone, as well as in cells over-expressing ZmNPR1 alone.

[0257] In contrast, cells expressing WRKY3-1 showed complete suppression of GUS activity under both JA treatment and no treatment. An antagonistic relationship between the SA- and JA-dependent plant defense signaling transduction pathways has been shown in several reports. WRKY factors have been proposed as repressors of PR-1 expression. The results indicate that JA and ZmWRKY3-1 suppress ZmPR-1::GUS expression in maize. Thus, ZmWRKY3-1 functions in suppression of ZmPR-1 in a transient system. This suppression of ZmPR-1 is consistent with what is expected for at least certain WRKY genes and is a further indicator of the role ZmWRKY3-1 plays in a plant's defense to disease.

[0258] Therefore, to modulate the level of disease resistance in a plant using a WRKY polynucleotide, it may be necessary to inhibit or lower the expression of the native WRKY gene or in the alternative increase expression by overexpression of the transgene, depending the disease resistance pathway to be modified. Methods of decreasing expression of a gene in a plant are well known in the art. For example, reduction in the expression of a WRKY gene can be accomplished by a number of methods, including but not limited to, antisense, catalytic RNA molecules (ribozymes), cross-linking agents, alkylating agents, radical generating species, or sense suppression. A discussion of these methods can be found in the section entitled “Recombinant Expression Cassettes.” If suppression of WRKY is only desired during pathogen infection, then a pathogen inducible promoter operably linked to the WRKY polynucleotide in the sense orientation for sense suppression or antisense orientation for antisense suppression may be used. Alternatively a constitutive promoter operably linked to a WRKY polynucleotide in the sense or antisense orientation may be used. The recombinant expression cassette can then be transformed into plant cells and a whole plant can be regenerated.

[0259] Alternatively, the native WRKY gene can be modified by chimeric oligonucleotides. U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,350 describes chimeric oligonucleotides that are useful for targeted gene correction and methods for their use in cultured mammalian cells. The use of chimeric oligonucleotides in plants is described in PCT Publication No. WO 99/25853, published May 27, 1999. Both disclosures are herein incorporated by reference.

[0260] In addition, the expression of WRKY gene may be reduced by the use of hairpin dsRNA techniques. These techniques are illustrated in PCT published applicant No. WO 99/53050, published Oct. 21, 1999 and WO 98/53083 published Nov. 26, 1998, both of which are herein incorporated by reference.

EXAMPLE 2 Isolation of Sunflower WRKY Polynucleotides (SWRKY1)

[0261] Fungal Infection and Chemical Treatments:

[0262] Sunflower plants (SMF3) were planted in 4-inch pot and grown in greenhouse for first four weeks. After transfer to growth chamber, plants were maintained under a 12-hour photoperiod at 22° C. with an 80% relative humidity. Six-week old plants were inoculated with Sclerotinia-infected carrot plugs or sprayed with four different chemicals at the given concentration. For each plant, three petioles were inoculated and wrapped with lx2 inch parafilm. Plant tissue samples were harvested at different time points and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen and then stored at −80° C.

[0263] Construction of the Sclerotinia-infected and Resistance-enhanced Sunflower cDNA Libraries:

[0264] Six-week old SMF3 sunflower plants were infected with Sclerotinia sclerotrium by petiole inoculation with Sclerotinia-infested carrot plugs. Six days after infection, leaf and stem tissues were collected from infected plants for total RNA isolation. Total RNA was also isolated from transgenic sunflower plants expressing a wheat oxalate oxidase gene at the 6-week stage (U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,291; and hereby incorporated by reference). Previous studies have showed that elevated levels of H₂O₂, SA and PR1 protein were detected in oxalate oxidase expressing transgenic plants at the 6-week stage and that the plants showed more resistant to Sclerotinia infection (U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,291). The mRNAs were isolated by a mRNA purification kit (BRL) according to manufacture's instruction. The cDNA libraries were constructed with the ZAP-cDNA synthesis kit into pBluescript phagemid (Stratagene). A cDNA library mixture for PCR cloning was made of oxalate oxidase transgenic stem and Sclerotinia-infected leaf libraries (1:2 mix).

[0265] PCR amplification of Sunflower WRKY Genes:

[0266] To isolate sunflower WRKY genes, a conserved motif (WRKYGQK) of zinc-finger type transcriptional factor was used to design four degenerate primers:

[0267] W-s1: 5′-TGGMGNAARTAYGGNCAGAA-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 3)

[0268] W-s2: 5′-TGGMGNAARTAYGGNCAAAA-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 4)

[0269] W-as1: 5′-TTYTGNCCRTAYTTNCGCCA-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 5)

[0270] W-as2: 5′-TTYTGNCCRTAYTTNCTCCA-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 6)

[0271] Primers for Library Vector (pBS)

[0272] PBS-upper: GCGATTAAGTTGGGTAACGCCAGGGT (SEQ ID NO: 7)

[0273] PBS-lower: TCCGGCTCGTATGTTGTGTGGAATTG (SEQ ID NO: 8)

[0274] The cDNA library was used as the DNA template for PCR amplification. To facilitate the cloning process, a pair of 28 base pair vector primers of flanking cDNA (3′ and 5′) of pBS vector were designed. The primers were directionally amplified with either the 5′ or 3′ end of the cDNA of the vector primers (pBS-upper or pBS-lower) paired with a degenerate primer. The full-length cDNA was amplified using a new gene specific primer containing the region upstream of the ATG start sequence and the vector primer at the 3′ end.

[0275] PCR reactions were performed in a total volume of 25 ul in 10 mM Tris—HCl, pH 8.3; 1.5 mM MgCL₂; 50 mM KCl; 0.1 mM dNTPs; 0.25 μM of each primer with 0.5 units of advantage cDNA polymerase mix (Clontech) or Pwo DNA polymerase (Boehringer Mannheim). Genomic DNA and/or cDNA library mixtures were used as templates for PCR amplification.

[0276] Analysis of Amplified PCR Products:

[0277] Amplified PCR fragments with the expected sizes were individually sliced out of the gel for a second round of PCR re-amplification with the same condition as initial PCR. Each second round of PCR product showing a single band with the expected size was cloned into a TA vector (Clontech) according to the supplier's instructions. Positive clones were sequenced using an Applied Biosystems 373A automated sequencer. DNA sequence analysis was carried out with Sequencer (3.0). Multiple-sequence alignments of the DNA sequence were carried out using CLUSTAL W (Thompson, et al., Nuc. Acids Res. 22:4673-80 (1994)).

[0278] Results

[0279] Four sunflower WRKY homologs have been cloned and sequenced. The SWRKY1-1 polynucleotide and polypeptide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NOS: 9 and 10. SWRKY1-2 polynucleotide and polypeptide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NOS: 11 and 12. SWRKY1-3 polynucleotide and polypeptide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NOS: 13 and 14. SWRKY1-4 polynucleotide and polypeptide sequence is shown in SEQ ID NOS: 15 and 16. BLAST search results indicates that all four cDNAs were homologous to parsley WRKY1 gene. Amino acid sequence alignment and genetic distance analysis reveals that three of the sunflower WRKY genes (SWRKY1-3, 1-2 and 1-4) are very closely related. Sunflower WRKY1-1 is less similar to the other sunflower WRKY genes but is closer in homology to the parsley WRKY1 gene.

[0280] Northern Blot Assay

[0281] The mRNA steady-state level of sunflower WRKY1 was studied under different chemical treatments. Six-week-old sunflower plants were sprayed with oxalic acid (OA) (5 mM), hydrogen peroxide (5 mM), salicylic acid (SA) (5 mM) and jasmonic acid (JA) (45 uM in 0.1% ethanol). Leaf samples were collected at 0, 6, 12, and 24 hours after application and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. Twenty microgram of total RNA were loaded in each sample lane. Control tissue was SMF3 leaf tissue with no treatment. Northern Blot analysis was performed according to Church, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad Sci. USA 81:1991-1995 (1984). The blots were probed with DNA from the sunflower WRKY1-1 polynucleotide. The salicylic acid and oxalic acid treatments showed significant induction of WRKY1-1 within 6 hours. The hydrogen peroxide and jasmonic acid treatments did not induce WRKY1-1 RNA within 6 hours.

[0282] The mRNA steady-state level of sunflower WRKY1 gene was also studied under Sclerotinia-infection and oxalate oxidase expression. Six-week-old transgenic sunflower leaf and stem samples were collected along with control SMF3 samples. Sclerotinia-infected samples were harvested on 6 days after inoculation. Twenty microgram of total RNA were loaded in each sample lane. Northern Blot analysis was performed according to Church, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad Sci. USA 81:1991-1995 (1984). The blots were probed with sunflower WRKY1-1 polynucleotide. Sunflower WRKY1-1 was induced by Sclerotinia infection and oxalate oxidase expression in sunflower.

[0283] Isolation of Disease Inducible Transcriptional Regulatory Regions:

[0284] The 5′-flanking regulatory region of WRKY1-2 (SEQ ID NO: 35) was isolated from sunflower genomic DNA using Universal GenomeWalker Kit (Clontech) according to the manufacturer instruction. Sunflower inbred line SMF3 was grown in the greenhouse and growth chamber. Mature leaf tissue from the sunflower line SMF 3 was used for genomic DNA isolation. (Rogers, et al., (1994) Extraction of total cellular DNA from plants, algae and fungi. In Plant Molecular Biology Manual (eds. Gelvin, S. B. and Schilperoort. second edition). Restriction digested genomic DNAs were ligated with an adaptor to construct pools of genomic DNA fragments (GenomeWalker libraries) for walking by PCR. (Siebert et al., Nuc. Acids Res. 23:1087-1088 (1995)).

[0285] PCR reactions were performed in a total volume of 25 ul in 10 mM Tris—HCL, pH 8.3; 1.5 mM MgCL2; 50 mM KCL; 0.1 mM dNTPs; 0.25 uM of each primer with 0.5 units DNA polymerase (Clontech). GenomicWalker libraries were used as template for PCR amplification.

[0286] Amplified PCR fragments with the expected sizes were individually sliced out of the gel for a second round PCR re-amplification with the same condition as the initial PCR. Each second round PCR product showing a single band with the expected size was cloned into TA vector (Invitrogen) according to the supplier's instructions. Identified positive clones were selected for DNA sequencing using an Applied Biosystems 373A (ABI) automated sequencer. DNA sequence analysis was carried out with Sequencer (3.0).

EXAMPLE 3 Isolation of Rice WRKY, Soybean WRKY, Wheat WRKY and Other Maize WRKY Polynucleotides

[0287] Composition of cDNA Libraries: Isolation and Sequence of cDNA Clones

[0288] For cDNA libraries various tissues were prepared. The characteristics of the libraries are described below. TABLE 1 cDNA Libraries Library Tissue Clone rls24 Rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaf (15 DAG) 24 hours after rls24.pk0005.d1 infection of strain 4360-R-67 rdr1f Rice (Oryza sativa L.), developing root of 10 day old rdr1f.pk004.m4 plants, full length enriched library srr3c Soybean (Glycine max L., Bell) roots srr3c.pk001.a20 sfl1 Soybean, (Glycine max L.) immature flower sfl1.pk0008.a2 sdp4c Soybean (Glycine max L.) developing pods, 10-12 mm. spd4c.pk007.b19 wlk4 Wheat, (Triticum aestivum L.) seedlings 4 hours after wlk4.pk0012.c10 treatment with the wheat fungicide KQ926 wlmk8 Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), seedlings 8 hours after wlmk8.pk0019.b11 inoculation with Erysiphe graminis and treatment with the wheat fungicide KQ926 cr1n Maize (Zea mays), root tissue from 7 day old etiolated crln.pk.0183.d7 seedlings cpk1c Maize (Zea mays), pooled BMS, treated with chemicals cpk1c.pk001.f20 related to membrane traffic

[0289] cDNA libraries were prepared in Uni-ZAP™ XR vectors according to the manufacturer's protocol (Stratagene Cloning Systems, La Jolla, Calif.). Conversion of the Uni-ZAP™ XR libraries into plasmid libraries was accomplished according to the protocol provided by Stratagene. Upon conversion, cDNA inserts were contained in the plasmid vector pBluescript. cDNA inserts from randomly picked bacterial colonies containing recombinant pBluescript plasmids were amplified via polymerase chain reaction using primers specific for vector sequences flanking the inserted cDNA sequences or plasmid DNA was prepared from cultured bacterial cells. Amplified insert DNAs or plasmid DNAs were sequenced in dye-primer sequencing reactions to generate partial cDNA sequences (see Adams, M. D. et al., (1991) Science 252:1651). The resulting sequences were analyzed using a Perkin Elmer Model 377 fluorescent sequencer.

[0290] Characterization of cDNA Clones Encoding Rice WRKY1 and WRKY3

[0291] The BLASTX search using the sequences from clone r1s24.pk0005.d1 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to WRKY1 from Petroselinum crispum (NCBI Accession No. 1431872) with a pLog score of 26.22. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone r1s24.pk0005.d1 is shown in SEQ ID NO: 17; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO: 18. BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode portions of WRKY1. These sequences represent the first rice sequence encoding WRKY1.

[0292] The BLASTX search using the sequences from clone rdr1f.pk004.m4 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to WRKY3 from Avena sativa (NCBI Accession No. 4894963) with a pLog score of 28.00. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone rdr1f.pk004.m4 is shown in SEQ ID NO: 19; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO: 20. BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode portions of WRKY3. These sequences represent the first rice sequence encoding WRKY3.

[0293] Characterization of cDNA Clones Encoding Soybean WRKY1, WRKY2-1, and WRKY3

[0294] The BLASTX search using the sequences from clone srr3c.pk001.a20 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to WRKY1 from Nicotiana tabacum (NCBI Accession No. 5360683) with a pLog score of 28.40. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone srr3c.pk001.a20 is shown in SEQ ID NO: 21; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO: 22. BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode portions of WRKY1. These sequences represent the first soybean sequence encoding WRKY1.

[0295] The BLASTX search using the sequences from clone sfll.pk0008.a2 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to WRKY2 from Petroselinum crispum (NCBI Accession No. 1432058) with a pLog score of 70.70. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone sfll.pk0008.a2 is shown in SEQ ID NO: 23; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO: 24. BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode portions of WRKY2. These sequences represent the first soybean sequence encoding WRKY2.

[0296] The BLASTX search using the sequences from clone sdp4c.pk007.b19 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to WRKY3 from Nicotiana tabacum (NCBI Accession No. 4760596) with a pLog score of 28.10. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone sdp4c.pk007.b19 is shown in SEQ ID NO: 25; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO: 26. BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode portions of WRKY3. These sequences represent the first soybean sequence encoding WRKY3.

[0297] Characterization of cDNA Clones Encoding Wheat WRKY2 and WRKY3

[0298] The BLASTX search using the sequences from clone wlk4.pk0012.c10 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to WRKY2 from Nicotiana tabacum (NCBI Accession No. 4760692) with a pLog score of 87.70. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone wlk4.pk0012.c10 is shown in SEQ ID NO: 27; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO: 28. BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode portions of WRKY2. These sequences represent the first wheat sequence encoding WRKY2.

[0299] The BLASTX search using the sequences from clone wlmk8.pk0019.b11 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to WRKY3 from Avena sativa (NCBI Accession No. 4894963) with a pLog score of 148.00. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone wlmk8.pkOOl9.bl 1 is shown in SEQ ID NO: 29; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO: 30. BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode portions of WRKY3. These sequences represent the first wheat sequence encoding WRKY3.

[0300] Characterization of cDNA Clones Encoding Maize WRKY2-1 and WRKY3-2

[0301] The BLASTX search using the sequences from clone cr1n.pk0183.d7 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to WRKY2-1 from Petroselinum crispum (NCBI Accession No. 1432058) with a pLog score of 47.22. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone cr1n.pk0183.d7 is shown in SEQ ID NO: 31; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO: 32. BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode portions of WRKY2-1. These sequences represent the first maize sequence encoding WRKY2-1.

[0302] The BLASTX search using the sequences from clone cpk1c.pk001.f20 revealed similarity of the proteins encoded by the cDNAs to WRKY3 from Nicotiana tabacum (NCBI Accession No. 4760596) with a pLog score of 15.70. The sequence of a portion of the cDNA insert from clone cpk1c.pk001.f20 is shown in SEQ ID NO: 33; the deduced amino acid sequence of this cDNA is shown in SEQ ID NO: 34. BLAST scores and probabilities indicate that the instant nucleic acid fragments encode portions of WRKY3-2. These sequences represent the first maize sequence encoding WRKY3-2.

EXAMPLE 4

[0303] Transformation and Regeneration of Transgenic Maize Plants

[0304] Immature maize embryos from greenhouse donor plants are bombarded with a plasmid containing a WRKY sequences of the present invention operably linked to a ubiquitin promoter and the selectable marker gene PAT (Wohlleben et al. (1988) Gene 70:25-37), which confers resistance to the herbicide Bialophos. Alternatively, the selectable marker gene is provided on a separate plasmid. Transformation is performed as follows. Media recipes follow below.

[0305] Preparation of Target Tissue

[0306] The ears are husked and surface sterilized in 30% Clorox bleach plus 0.5% Micro detergent for 20 minutes, and rinsed two times with sterile water. The immature embryos are excised and placed embryo axis side down (scutellum side up), 25 embryos per plate, on 560Y medium for 4 hours and then aligned within the 2.5-cm target zone in preparation for bombardment.

[0307] Preparation of DNA

[0308] This plasmid DNA containing the WRKY polynucleotide plus plasmid DNA containing a PAT selectable marker is precipitated onto 1.1 μm (average diameter) tungsten pellets using a CaCl₂ precipitation procedure as follows:

[0309] 100 μl prepared tungsten particles in water

[0310] 10 μl (1 μg) DNA in Tris EDTA buffer (1 μg total DNA)

[0311] 100 μl 2.5 M CaCl₂

[0312] 10 μl 0.1 M spermidine

[0313] Each reagent is added sequentially to the tungsten particle suspension, while maintained on the multitube vortexer. The final mixture is sonicated briefly and allowed to incubate under constant vortexing for 10 minutes. After the precipitation period, the tubes are centrifuged briefly, liquid removed, washed with 500 ml 100% ethanol, and centrifuged for 30 seconds. Again the liquid is removed, and 105 μl 100% ethanol is added to the final tungsten particle pellet. For particle gun bombardment, the tungsten/DNA particles are briefly sonicated and 10 μl spotted onto the center of each macrocarrier and allowed to dry about 2 minutes before bombardment.

[0314] Particle Gun Treatment

[0315] The sample plates are bombarded at level #4 in particle gun #HE34-1 or #HE34-2. All samples receive a single shot at 650 PSI, with a total of ten aliquots taken from each tube of prepared particles/DNA.

[0316] Subsequent Treatment

[0317] Following bombardment, the embryos are kept on 560Y medium for 2 days, then transferred to 560R selection medium containing 3 mg/liter Bialophos, and subcultured every 2 weeks. After approximately 10 weeks of selection, selection-resistant callus clones are transferred to 288J medium to initiate plant regeneration. Following somatic embryo maturation (2-4 weeks), well-developed somatic embryos are transferred to medium for germination and transferred to the lighted culture room. Approximately 7-10 days later, developing plantlets are transferred to 272V hormone-free medium in tubes for 7-10 days until plantlets are well established. Plants are then transferred to inserts in flats (equivalent to 2.5″ pot) containing potting soil and grown for 1 week in a growth chamber, subsequently grown an additional 1-2 weeks in the greenhouse, then transferred to classic 600 pots (1.6 gallon) and grown to maturity. Plants are monitored and scored for and altered level of expression of the WRKY sequence of the invention. Alternatively, the WRKY activity can be assayed (i.e., enhance disease resistance).

[0318] Bombardment and Culture Media

[0319] Bombardment medium (560Y) comprises 4.0 g/l N6 basal salts (SIGMA C-1416), 1.0 ml/l Eriksson's Vitamin Mix (1000× SIGMA-1511), 0.5 mg/l thiamine HCl, 120.0 g/l sucrose, 1.0 mg/l 2,4-D, and 2.88 g/l L-proline (brought to volume with D-I H₂O following adjustment to pH 5.8 with KOH); 2.0 g/l Gelrite (added after bringing to volume with D-I H₂O); and 8.5 mg/l silver nitrate (added after sterilizing the medium and cooling to room temperature). Selection medium (560R) comprises 4.0 g/l N6 basal salts (SIGMA C-1416), 1.0 ml/l Eriksson's Vitamin Mix (1000× SIGMA-1511), 0.5 mg/l thiamine HCl, 30.0 g/l sucrose, and 2.0 mg/l 2,4-D (brought to volume with D-I H₂O following adjustment to pH 5.8 with KOH); 3.0 g/l Gelrite (added after bringing to volume with D-I H₂O); and 0.85 mg/l silver nitrate and 3.0 mg/l bialophos (both added after sterilizing the medium and cooling to room temperature).

[0320] Plant regeneration medium (288J) comprises 4.3 g/l MS salts (GIBCO 11117-074), 5.0 ml/l MS vitamins stock solution (0.100 g nicotinic acid, 0.02 g/l thiamine HCL, 0.10 g/l pyridoxine HCL, and 0.40 g/l glycine brought to volume with polished D-I H₂O) (Murashige and Skoog (1962) Physiol. Plant. 15:473), 100 mg/l myo-inositol, 0.5 mg/l zeatin, 60 g/l sucrose, and 1.0 ml/l of 0.1 mM abscisic acid (brought to volume with polished D-I H₂O after adjusting to pH 5.6); 3.0 g/l Gelrite (added after bringing to volume with D-I H₂O); and 1.0 mg/l indoleacetic acid and 3.0 mg/l bialophos (added after sterilizing the medium and cooling to 60° C.). Hormone-free medium (272V) comprises 4.3 g/l MS salts (GIBCO 11117-074), 5.0 ml/l MS vitamins stock solution (0.100 g/l nicotinic acid, 0.02 g/l thiamine HCL, 0.10 g/l pyridoxine HCL, and 0.40 g/l glycine brought to volume with polished D-I H₂O), 0.1 g/l myo-inositol, and 40.0 g/l sucrose (brought to volume with polished D-I H₂O after adjusting pH to 5.6); and 6 g/l bacto-agar (added after bringing to volume with polished D-I H₂O), sterilized and cooled to 60° C.

EXAMPLE 5 Agrobacterium-mediated Transformation of Maize

[0321] For Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of maize with a WRKY polynucleotide operably linked to ubiquitin promoter, preferably the method of Zhao is employed (U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,840, and PCT patent publication WO98/32326; the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference). Briefly, immature embryos are isolated from maize and the embryos contacted with a suspension of Agrobacterium, where the bacteria are capable of transferring the WRKY nucleotide sequences to at least one cell of at least one of the immature embryos (step 1: the infection step). In this step the immature embryos are preferably immersed in an Agrobacterium suspension for the initiation of inoculation. The embryos are co-cultured for a time with the Agrobacterium (step 2: the co-cultivation step). Preferably the immature embryos are cultured on solid medium following the infection step. Following this co-cultivation period an optional “resting” step is contemplated. In this resting step, the embryos are incubated in the presence of at least one antibiotic known to inhibit the growth of Agrobacterium without the addition of a selective agent for plant transformants (step 3: resting step). Preferably the immature embryos are cultured on solid medium with antibiotic, but without a selecting agent, for elimination of Agrobacterium and for a resting phase for the infected cells. Next, inoculated embryos are cultured on medium containing a selective agent and growing transformed callus is recovered (step 4: the selection step). Preferably, the immature embryos are cultured on solid medium with a selective agent resulting in the selective growth of transformed cells. The callus is then regenerated into plants (step 5: the regeneration step), and preferably calli grown on selective medium are cultured on solid medium to regenerate the plants.

EXAMPLE 6 Soybean Embryo Transformation

[0322] Soybean embryos are bombarded with a plasmid containing a WRKY polynucleotide operably linked to a Scp1 promoter (U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,050) as follows. To induce somatic embryos, cotyledons, 3-5 mm in length dissected from surface-sterilized, immature seeds of the soybean cultivar A2872, are cultured in the light or dark at 26° C. on an appropriate agar medium for six to ten weeks. Somatic embryos producing secondary embryos are then excised and placed into a suitable liquid medium. After repeated selection for clusters of somatic embryos that multiplied as early, globular-staged embryos, the suspensions are maintained as described below.

[0323] Soybean embryogenic suspension cultures can be maintained in 35 ml liquid media on a rotary shaker, 150 rpm, at 26° C. with florescent lights on a 16:8 hour day/night schedule. Cultures are subcultured every two weeks by inoculating approximately 35 mg of tissue into 35 ml of liquid medium.

[0324] Soybean embryogenic suspension cultures may then be transformed by the method of particle gun bombardment (Klein et al. (1987) Nature (London) 327:70-73, U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,050). A Du Pont Biolistic PDS1000/HE instrument (helium retrofit) can be used for these transformations.

[0325] A selectable marker gene that can be used to facilitate soybean transformation is a transgene composed of the 35S promoter from Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (Odell et al. (1985) Nature 313:810-812), the hygromycin phosphotransferase gene from plasmid pJR225 (from E. coli; Gritz et al. (1983) Gene 25:179-188), and the 3′ region of the nopaline synthase gene from the T-DNA of the Ti plasmid of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The expression cassette comprising the WRKY sequence operably linked to the Scpl promoter can be isolated as a restriction fragment. This fragment can then be inserted into a unique restriction site of the vector carrying the marker gene.

[0326] To 50 μl of a 60 mg/ml 1 μm gold particle suspension is added (in order): 5 μl DNA (1 μg/μl), 20 μl spermidine (0.1 M), and 50 μl CaCl₂ (2.5 M). The particle preparation is then agitated for three minutes, spun in a microfuge for 10 seconds and the supernatant removed. The DNA-coated particles are then washed once in 400 μl 70% ethanol and resuspended in 40 μl of anhydrous ethanol. The DNA/particle suspension can be sonicated three times for one second each. Five microliters of the DNA-coated gold particles are then loaded on each macro carrier disk.

[0327] Approximately 300-400 mg of a two-week-old suspension culture is placed in an empty 60×15 mm petri dish and the residual liquid removed from the tissue with a pipette. For each transformation experiment, approximately 5-10 plates of tissue are normally bombarded. Membrane rupture pressure is set at 1100 psi, and the chamber is evacuated to a vacuum of 28 inches mercury. The tissue is placed approximately 3.5 inches away from the retaining screen and bombarded three times. Following bombardment, the tissue can be divided in half and placed back into liquid and cultured as described above.

[0328] Five to seven days post bombardment, the liquid media may be exchanged with fresh media, and eleven to twelve days post-bombardment with fresh media containing 50 mg/ml hygromycin. This selective media can be refreshed weekly. Seven to eight weeks post-bombardment, green, transformed tissue may be observed growing from untransformed, necrotic embryogenic clusters. Isolated green tissue is removed and inoculated into individual flasks to generate new, clonally propagated, transformed embryogenic suspension cultures. Each new line may be treated as an independent transformation event. These suspensions can then be subcultured and maintained as clusters of immature embryos or regenerated into whole plants by maturation and germination of individual somatic embryos.

[0329] The above examples are provided to illustrate the invention but not to limit its scope. Other variants of the invention will be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and are encompassed by the appended claims. All publications, patents, and patent applications cited herein are indicative of the level of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. All publications, patents, and patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

0 SEQUENCE LISTING <160> NUMBER OF SEQ ID NOS: 43 <210> SEQ ID NO 1 <211> LENGTH: 1244 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: CDS <222> LOCATION: (28)...(1020) <400> SEQUENCE: 1 ccggcgtgtt ggtcgacggc ggcgcag atg acg acc ctc gat ctg atg gga ggg 54 Met Thr Thr Leu Asp Leu Met Gly Gly 1 5 tac ggg cgg gtg gac gag cag gtg gcc atc cag gag gcc gcc acg gcg 102 Tyr Gly Arg Val Asp Glu Gln Val Ala Ile Gln Glu Ala Ala Thr Ala 10 15 20 25 ggg ctg cgc ggg atg gag cgt ctc atc ttg cag ctc tcc cag gct ggc 150 Gly Leu Arg Gly Met Glu Arg Leu Ile Leu Gln Leu Ser Gln Ala Gly 30 35 40 acc ggg gag cgg tcg ttg tcc cca ccg gcg gta cag gcg cag cgc cag 198 Thr Gly Glu Arg Ser Leu Ser Pro Pro Ala Val Gln Ala Gln Arg Gln 45 50 55 cag cag aag cag ctg gag cag atc cag cag cag gtt gac tgc cgg gag 246 Gln Gln Lys Gln Leu Glu Gln Ile Gln Gln Gln Val Asp Cys Arg Glu 60 65 70 ctc acg gac atg acg gtg tcc aag ttc aag aag gtg atc tcc atc ctg 294 Leu Thr Asp Met Thr Val Ser Lys Phe Lys Lys Val Ile Ser Ile Leu 75 80 85 aac cgc acg ggg cac gcg cgg ttc cgg cgt ggc ccc gtg gcg gcg cgg 342 Asn Arg Thr Gly His Ala Arg Phe Arg Arg Gly Pro Val Ala Ala Arg 90 95 100 105 tcg cag tcg cag tcg cag gga cct gcc tcc ccc gag ccc gcg caa tcg 390 Ser Gln Ser Gln Ser Gln Gly Pro Ala Ser Pro Glu Pro Ala Gln Ser 110 115 120 gcg ccg gct ccc gcc gcg agg ccc ctg acg ctg gac ttc acc aag tcg 438 Ala Pro Ala Pro Ala Ala Arg Pro Leu Thr Leu Asp Phe Thr Lys Ser 125 130 135 gtg tcc ggt tac agc agg gac tcc ggg ttc agc gtg tcc ggc gcg agc 486 Val Ser Gly Tyr Ser Arg Asp Ser Gly Phe Ser Val Ser Gly Ala Ser 140 145 150 tcg tcg ttc ctg tcg tcg gtg acg acc ggg gac ggg agc gtg tcg aac 534 Ser Ser Phe Leu Ser Ser Val Thr Thr Gly Asp Gly Ser Val Ser Asn 155 160 165 ggg cgc gcg gga ggc tcg tcg ttc ctc atg ttc cca ccg gcg ccc ggc 582 Gly Arg Ala Gly Gly Ser Ser Phe Leu Met Phe Pro Pro Ala Pro Gly 170 175 180 185 gcg gcc agc tgc gcg aag ccg ccg ccc gcc ggt gcg gcg cag aag cgc 630 Ala Ala Ser Cys Ala Lys Pro Pro Pro Ala Gly Ala Ala Gln Lys Arg 190 195 200 aag tgc cac gac cac gcg cac tcg gag aac gtc gcc ggc ggc aag tac 678 Lys Cys His Asp His Ala His Ser Glu Asn Val Ala Gly Gly Lys Tyr 205 210 215 ggg gct aac ggc ggg cgc tgc cac tgc tcg aag cgc agg aag cac cgt 726 Gly Ala Asn Gly Gly Arg Cys His Cys Ser Lys Arg Arg Lys His Arg 220 225 230 gtg aag cgc acg atc cgc gtg ccg gcg atc agc ccc aaa gtg gcg gac 774 Val Lys Arg Thr Ile Arg Val Pro Ala Ile Ser Pro Lys Val Ala Asp 235 240 245 atc ccc gcc gac gag tac tcg tgg cgc aag tac ggc cag aaa ccc atc 822 Ile Pro Ala Asp Glu Tyr Ser Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Pro Ile 250 255 260 265 aag ggg tcg ccc tac cca cgc ggc tac tac aag tgc agc acg gtg cgc 870 Lys Gly Ser Pro Tyr Pro Arg Gly Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Ser Thr Val Arg 270 275 280 ggc tgc ccc gcc cgg aag cat gtg gag cgc gac ccc gcc gac ccg tcg 918 Gly Cys Pro Ala Arg Lys His Val Glu Arg Asp Pro Ala Asp Pro Ser 285 290 295 atg ctg atc gtc acc tac gag ggc gag cac cgc cac agc ccc gcc tcc 966 Met Leu Ile Val Thr Tyr Glu Gly Glu His Arg His Ser Pro Ala Ser 300 305 310 ggc cag gac ccg ccg ccg ccg tcg ctc gcg ccg ctg ccg gag ctg ccc 1014 Gly Gln Asp Pro Pro Pro Pro Ser Leu Ala Pro Leu Pro Glu Leu Pro 315 320 325 agc cat tgatttggct tcctgcctgc tctgtcctgt caattactag tagctgttgt 1070 Ser His 330 cataagttat aaaatcaaaa tcgccagttc agttttagca gctccgtttt ccgatttttt 1130 tctcttctgt cgttcgcgtt agcagctttg tgaaaggatt aggaaagtgt tagcatcaga 1190 cttggagaag ggaaaagaaa acaaaaggta atgctctaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaa 1244 <210> SEQ ID NO 2 <211> LENGTH: 331 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <400> SEQUENCE: 2 Met Thr Thr Leu Asp Leu Met Gly Gly Tyr Gly Arg Val Asp Glu Gln 1 5 10 15 Val Ala Ile Gln Glu Ala Ala Thr Ala Gly Leu Arg Gly Met Glu Arg 20 25 30 Leu Ile Leu Gln Leu Ser Gln Ala Gly Thr Gly Glu Arg Ser Leu Ser 35 40 45 Pro Pro Ala Val Gln Ala Gln Arg Gln Gln Gln Lys Gln Leu Glu Gln 50 55 60 Ile Gln Gln Gln Val Asp Cys Arg Glu Leu Thr Asp Met Thr Val Ser 65 70 75 80 Lys Phe Lys Lys Val Ile Ser Ile Leu Asn Arg Thr Gly His Ala Arg 85 90 95 Phe Arg Arg Gly Pro Val Ala Ala Arg Ser Gln Ser Gln Ser Gln Gly 100 105 110 Pro Ala Ser Pro Glu Pro Ala Gln Ser Ala Pro Ala Pro Ala Ala Arg 115 120 125 Pro Leu Thr Leu Asp Phe Thr Lys Ser Val Ser Gly Tyr Ser Arg Asp 130 135 140 Ser Gly Phe Ser Val Ser Gly Ala Ser Ser Ser Phe Leu Ser Ser Val 145 150 155 160 Thr Thr Gly Asp Gly Ser Val Ser Asn Gly Arg Ala Gly Gly Ser Ser 165 170 175 Phe Leu Met Phe Pro Pro Ala Pro Gly Ala Ala Ser Cys Ala Lys Pro 180 185 190 Pro Pro Ala Gly Ala Ala Gln Lys Arg Lys Cys His Asp His Ala His 195 200 205 Ser Glu Asn Val Ala Gly Gly Lys Tyr Gly Ala Asn Gly Gly Arg Cys 210 215 220 His Cys Ser Lys Arg Arg Lys His Arg Val Lys Arg Thr Ile Arg Val 225 230 235 240 Pro Ala Ile Ser Pro Lys Val Ala Asp Ile Pro Ala Asp Glu Tyr Ser 245 250 255 Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Pro Ile Lys Gly Ser Pro Tyr Pro Arg 260 265 270 Gly Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Ser Thr Val Arg Gly Cys Pro Ala Arg Lys His 275 280 285 Val Glu Arg Asp Pro Ala Asp Pro Ser Met Leu Ile Val Thr Tyr Glu 290 295 300 Gly Glu His Arg His Ser Pro Ala Ser Gly Gln Asp Pro Pro Pro Pro 305 310 315 320 Ser Leu Ala Pro Leu Pro Glu Leu Pro Ser His 325 330 <210> SEQ ID NO 3 <211> LENGTH: 20 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Artificial Sequence <220> FEATURE: <223> OTHER INFORMATION: Synthetic oligonucleotide, primer W-s1 <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(20) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: n = A,T,C or G <400> SEQUENCE: 3 tggmgnaart ayggncagaa 20 <210> SEQ ID NO 4 <211> LENGTH: 20 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Artificial Sequence <220> FEATURE: <223> OTHER INFORMATION: Synthetic oligonucleotide, primer W-s2 <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(20) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: n = A,T,C or G <400> SEQUENCE: 4 tggmgnaart ayggncaaaa 20 <210> SEQ ID NO 5 <211> LENGTH: 20 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Artificial Sequence <220> FEATURE: <223> OTHER INFORMATION: Synthetic oligonucleotide, primer W-as1 <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(20) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: n = A,T,C or G <400> SEQUENCE: 5 ttytgnccrt ayttncgcca 20 <210> SEQ ID NO 6 <211> LENGTH: 20 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Artificial Sequence <220> FEATURE: <223> OTHER INFORMATION: Synthetic oligonucleotide, primer W-as2 <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(20) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: n = A,T,C or G <400> SEQUENCE: 6 ttytgnccrt ayttnctcca 20 <210> SEQ ID NO 7 <211> LENGTH: 26 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Artificial Sequence <220> FEATURE: <223> OTHER INFORMATION: Synthetic oligonucleotide, primer for library vector (pBS), PBS-upper <400> SEQUENCE: 7 gcgattaagt tgggtaacgc cagggt 26 <210> SEQ ID NO 8 <211> LENGTH: 26 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Artificial Sequence <220> FEATURE: <223> OTHER INFORMATION: Synthetic oligonucleotide, primer for library vector (pBS), PBS-lower <400> SEQUENCE: 8 tccggctcgt atgttgtgtg gaattg 26 <210> SEQ ID NO 9 <211> LENGTH: 2008 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Helianthus annus <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: CDS <222> LOCATION: (36)...(1715) <400> SEQUENCE: 9 cccaatcgag tctctcccaa atatctcctt ctata atg agt ttt tca tcc tcc 53 Met Ser Phe Ser Ser Ser 1 5 tca ggt atc acc ctt gaa aca cca ccc tcc tcc acc cct tcc ttc tct 101 Ser Gly Ile Thr Leu Glu Thr Pro Pro Ser Ser Thr Pro Ser Phe Ser 10 15 20 ttc tct atg tct tct ttt tcc gac caa cct ccg cca ccc cga acc acc 149 Phe Ser Met Ser Ser Phe Ser Asp Gln Pro Pro Pro Pro Arg Thr Thr 25 30 35 gga ctc gct gcc cgg atc gcc gaa cga gtc ggc tcc ggt att ccc aag 197 Gly Leu Ala Ala Arg Ile Ala Glu Arg Val Gly Ser Gly Ile Pro Lys 40 45 50 ttc aag tca atc cct cca cct tca ctt ccc atc tcc ccg ccc gcg gtc 245 Phe Lys Ser Ile Pro Pro Pro Ser Leu Pro Ile Ser Pro Pro Ala Val 55 60 65 70 tcc cct tct tct tat ttt gct atc ccg gcc gga cta agc ccg gcc gag 293 Ser Pro Ser Ser Tyr Phe Ala Ile Pro Ala Gly Leu Ser Pro Ala Glu 75 80 85 ctc ctc gac tcc cct gtt tta ctc tcc tct tcc aac att cta ccg tct 341 Leu Leu Asp Ser Pro Val Leu Leu Ser Ser Ser Asn Ile Leu Pro Ser 90 95 100 ccg act acg ggt tca ttc cca ttt caa gct ttt aac tgg aag aat ctg 389 Pro Thr Thr Gly Ser Phe Pro Phe Gln Ala Phe Asn Trp Lys Asn Leu 105 110 115 aac ggc aac ttc cat aat gaa gaa cat agc atc aaa aag gag caa aaa 437 Asn Gly Asn Phe His Asn Glu Glu His Ser Ile Lys Lys Glu Gln Lys 120 125 130 agc ttg gcg gat ttc tct ttt cga cca caa ttg cat cat cct acg gag 485 Ser Leu Ala Asp Phe Ser Phe Arg Pro Gln Leu His His Pro Thr Glu 135 140 145 150 caa cag ata tgg aat aat cag aaa caa cag ata gat caa gac gaa aaa 533 Gln Gln Ile Trp Asn Asn Gln Lys Gln Gln Ile Asp Gln Asp Glu Lys 155 160 165 tct tta acc caa tcc gga cac tcg cct ccg atg cag agc ttc tca ccc 581 Ser Leu Thr Gln Ser Gly His Ser Pro Pro Met Gln Ser Phe Ser Pro 170 175 180 gaa atc gca aca att caa acc gat tca aac tca caa gca caa agc ttc 629 Glu Ile Ala Thr Ile Gln Thr Asp Ser Asn Ser Gln Ala Gln Ser Phe 185 190 195 caa tct ggt tat gac acc aac agc agc agc aac ttc aac aac caa acg 677 Gln Ser Gly Tyr Asp Thr Asn Ser Ser Ser Asn Phe Asn Asn Gln Thr 200 205 210 tta cag aag aag tca gaa gac ggt tat aat tgg cga aaa tac ggg caa 725 Leu Gln Lys Lys Ser Glu Asp Gly Tyr Asn Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln 215 220 225 230 aaa caa gtg aaa ggg agc gaa aac ccg agg agt tat tac aag tgc acg 773 Lys Gln Val Lys Gly Ser Glu Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr 235 240 245 tat cca aat tgt tca atg aag aag aaa cta gag act aat ata gaa gga 821 Tyr Pro Asn Cys Ser Met Lys Lys Lys Leu Glu Thr Asn Ile Glu Gly 250 255 260 cag att act gag att gtt tat aag ggt aat cat aat cac ccg aaa ccg 869 Gln Ile Thr Glu Ile Val Tyr Lys Gly Asn His Asn His Pro Lys Pro 265 270 275 caa tct acg cga aga tca tcg tct tct tcg gct tcg aat act ttg cag 917 Gln Ser Thr Arg Arg Ser Ser Ser Ser Ser Ala Ser Asn Thr Leu Gln 280 285 290 atg agt cag gct tca agt aat cat gat gtt cat gat tac ccg gat cag 965 Met Ser Gln Ala Ser Ser Asn His Asp Val His Asp Tyr Pro Asp Gln 295 300 305 310 tct tat gtt tct cat gga tcc ggg cag gtt gat tcg gtt act acg ccg 1013 Ser Tyr Val Ser His Gly Ser Gly Gln Val Asp Ser Val Thr Thr Pro 315 320 325 gaa aat tct tcg att tcg gtc gga gat gat gag ttt gat cgg agt agg 1061 Glu Asn Ser Ser Ile Ser Val Gly Asp Asp Glu Phe Asp Arg Ser Arg 330 335 340 tcc ggt ggg gat ggt gtt act gtt gat gaa gat gag cct gag gcc aaa 1109 Ser Gly Gly Asp Gly Val Thr Val Asp Glu Asp Glu Pro Glu Ala Lys 345 350 355 aga tgg aag gtg tcg gaa aat gaa ggg ata tca atg att ggt gga aca 1157 Arg Trp Lys Val Ser Glu Asn Glu Gly Ile Ser Met Ile Gly Gly Thr 360 365 370 aag acg gta cga gaa ccg agg atc gtg gtt caa acg acc agc gat att 1205 Lys Thr Val Arg Glu Pro Arg Ile Val Val Gln Thr Thr Ser Asp Ile 375 380 385 390 gat ata ctc gat gat ggt tat aga tgg aga aaa tac ggt caa aag gtg 1253 Asp Ile Leu Asp Asp Gly Tyr Arg Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Val 395 400 405 gtc aag gga aac cca aat cca agg agt tat tac aaa tgc aca agt cta 1301 Val Lys Gly Asn Pro Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr Ser Leu 410 415 420 ggt tgt tct gta aga aaa cat gtg gag cga gcg tca caa gac ttg agg 1349 Gly Cys Ser Val Arg Lys His Val Glu Arg Ala Ser Gln Asp Leu Arg 425 430 435 tca gta ata acg acc tac gag gga aaa cac aac cat gat gtc cca atg 1397 Ser Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr Glu Gly Lys His Asn His Asp Val Pro Met 440 445 450 gct cgt ggg tct ggc cat cgg tta caa gct tca acc cta agc aac aat 1445 Ala Arg Gly Ser Gly His Arg Leu Gln Ala Ser Thr Leu Ser Asn Asn 455 460 465 470 gcg ccc tcg atg aca att aaa cct atg gca cta tct cat tat caa gtt 1493 Ala Pro Ser Met Thr Ile Lys Pro Met Ala Leu Ser His Tyr Gln Val 475 480 485 gac aac tcc atg gtc gat cca act cgt ggc ccg agg tac cct ccc tca 1541 Asp Asn Ser Met Val Asp Pro Thr Arg Gly Pro Arg Tyr Pro Pro Ser 490 495 500 tct gaa aat caa gca cct ttt acg ttg gag atg tta caa agt tct gat 1589 Ser Glu Asn Gln Ala Pro Phe Thr Leu Glu Met Leu Gln Ser Ser Asp 505 510 515 aat ttt aag tat tcg aga ttt gag aat gca ttg aag tcc aat tat aat 1637 Asn Phe Lys Tyr Ser Arg Phe Glu Asn Ala Leu Lys Ser Asn Tyr Asn 520 525 530 gaa cat aat tca gaa aga acg ttt tct acg act aaa gaa gaa cct aga 1685 Glu His Asn Ser Glu Arg Thr Phe Ser Thr Thr Lys Glu Glu Pro Arg 535 540 545 550 gat gac atg ttc ttt gag tca tta ctc ttc tagttttcta tctcagaagg 1735 Asp Asp Met Phe Phe Glu Ser Leu Leu Phe 555 560 gttaatcaac acaaataata cttaataata gaacatacaa gaaaattctt ttgttgcttt 1795 attcccatgt tgtttgtata tttttttttc ttcaattctt gtgtattttt tttggcgaag 1855 aagatcacat aggagtctag ttaccttttt acccttctga gcctgtacaa tgtataaacc 1915 ttatgcaaca tatcatgagg atatcttgtg acttgtttat ttttactata tgaaagaatt 1975 aagacttatg tggtgaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaa 2008 <210> SEQ ID NO 10 <211> LENGTH: 560 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Helianthus annus <400> SEQUENCE: 10 Met Ser Phe Ser Ser Ser Ser Gly Ile Thr Leu Glu Thr Pro Pro Ser 1 5 10 15 Ser Thr Pro Ser Phe Ser Phe Ser Met Ser Ser Phe Ser Asp Gln Pro 20 25 30 Pro Pro Pro Arg Thr Thr Gly Leu Ala Ala Arg Ile Ala Glu Arg Val 35 40 45 Gly Ser Gly Ile Pro Lys Phe Lys Ser Ile Pro Pro Pro Ser Leu Pro 50 55 60 Ile Ser Pro Pro Ala Val Ser Pro Ser Ser Tyr Phe Ala Ile Pro Ala 65 70 75 80 Gly Leu Ser Pro Ala Glu Leu Leu Asp Ser Pro Val Leu Leu Ser Ser 85 90 95 Ser Asn Ile Leu Pro Ser Pro Thr Thr Gly Ser Phe Pro Phe Gln Ala 100 105 110 Phe Asn Trp Lys Asn Leu Asn Gly Asn Phe His Asn Glu Glu His Ser 115 120 125 Ile Lys Lys Glu Gln Lys Ser Leu Ala Asp Phe Ser Phe Arg Pro Gln 130 135 140 Leu His His Pro Thr Glu Gln Gln Ile Trp Asn Asn Gln Lys Gln Gln 145 150 155 160 Ile Asp Gln Asp Glu Lys Ser Leu Thr Gln Ser Gly His Ser Pro Pro 165 170 175 Met Gln Ser Phe Ser Pro Glu Ile Ala Thr Ile Gln Thr Asp Ser Asn 180 185 190 Ser Gln Ala Gln Ser Phe Gln Ser Gly Tyr Asp Thr Asn Ser Ser Ser 195 200 205 Asn Phe Asn Asn Gln Thr Leu Gln Lys Lys Ser Glu Asp Gly Tyr Asn 210 215 220 Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Gln Val Lys Gly Ser Glu Asn Pro Arg 225 230 235 240 Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr Tyr Pro Asn Cys Ser Met Lys Lys Lys Leu 245 250 255 Glu Thr Asn Ile Glu Gly Gln Ile Thr Glu Ile Val Tyr Lys Gly Asn 260 265 270 His Asn His Pro Lys Pro Gln Ser Thr Arg Arg Ser Ser Ser Ser Ser 275 280 285 Ala Ser Asn Thr Leu Gln Met Ser Gln Ala Ser Ser Asn His Asp Val 290 295 300 His Asp Tyr Pro Asp Gln Ser Tyr Val Ser His Gly Ser Gly Gln Val 305 310 315 320 Asp Ser Val Thr Thr Pro Glu Asn Ser Ser Ile Ser Val Gly Asp Asp 325 330 335 Glu Phe Asp Arg Ser Arg Ser Gly Gly Asp Gly Val Thr Val Asp Glu 340 345 350 Asp Glu Pro Glu Ala Lys Arg Trp Lys Val Ser Glu Asn Glu Gly Ile 355 360 365 Ser Met Ile Gly Gly Thr Lys Thr Val Arg Glu Pro Arg Ile Val Val 370 375 380 Gln Thr Thr Ser Asp Ile Asp Ile Leu Asp Asp Gly Tyr Arg Trp Arg 385 390 395 400 Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Val Val Lys Gly Asn Pro Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr 405 410 415 Tyr Lys Cys Thr Ser Leu Gly Cys Ser Val Arg Lys His Val Glu Arg 420 425 430 Ala Ser Gln Asp Leu Arg Ser Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr Glu Gly Lys His 435 440 445 Asn His Asp Val Pro Met Ala Arg Gly Ser Gly His Arg Leu Gln Ala 450 455 460 Ser Thr Leu Ser Asn Asn Ala Pro Ser Met Thr Ile Lys Pro Met Ala 465 470 475 480 Leu Ser His Tyr Gln Val Asp Asn Ser Met Val Asp Pro Thr Arg Gly 485 490 495 Pro Arg Tyr Pro Pro Ser Ser Glu Asn Gln Ala Pro Phe Thr Leu Glu 500 505 510 Met Leu Gln Ser Ser Asp Asn Phe Lys Tyr Ser Arg Phe Glu Asn Ala 515 520 525 Leu Lys Ser Asn Tyr Asn Glu His Asn Ser Glu Arg Thr Phe Ser Thr 530 535 540 Thr Lys Glu Glu Pro Arg Asp Asp Met Phe Phe Glu Ser Leu Leu Phe 545 550 555 560 <210> SEQ ID NO 11 <211> LENGTH: 1538 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Helianthus annus <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: CDS <222> LOCATION: (150)...(1367) <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(1538) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: n = A,T,C or G <400> SEQUENCE: 11 agaattcggc ttgtatccat acacagctca ccgctgatca acgcctctta ttttcactcc 60 ggcaccttca attcaaccca aacgagtcgt gtggtgatac taacgaagtc aaatcagcat 120 gcaaccaaga tgttattgat atcacaata atg gac aag tca tcc gac agt gta 173 Met Asp Lys Ser Ser Asp Ser Val 1 5 gag ttg acc aac gac tcc aac agt gga gac ccg tct aat caa gaa aca 221 Glu Leu Thr Asn Asp Ser Asn Ser Gly Asp Pro Ser Asn Gln Glu Thr 10 15 20 aaa tcc gag tcg aca aaa gtt aag gag tct cat gat agt tct aac caa 269 Lys Ser Glu Ser Thr Lys Val Lys Glu Ser His Asp Ser Ser Asn Gln 25 30 35 40 gaa gga agt tcc aca acc gta cta cct aac aaa gag tta gac gct caa 317 Glu Gly Ser Ser Thr Thr Val Leu Pro Asn Lys Glu Leu Asp Ala Gln 45 50 55 aat gac aaa cct acc ctt cat acc gaa agt gct aga tca gaa tct gtt 365 Asn Asp Lys Pro Thr Leu His Thr Glu Ser Ala Arg Ser Glu Ser Val 60 65 70 aaa gaa gaa aac aca ctc acc gac agt tca cag caa act cct gca tca 413 Lys Glu Glu Asn Thr Leu Thr Asp Ser Ser Gln Gln Thr Pro Ala Ser 75 80 85 gaa cct gat gat aag aat aat att gtg ccg tta agg cca gag aaa ggg 461 Glu Pro Asp Asp Lys Asn Asn Ile Val Pro Leu Arg Pro Glu Lys Gly 90 95 100 ctt gat aaa tta cca cta aga cgt aat gct gac aat gtt acg gtt gct 509 Leu Asp Lys Leu Pro Leu Arg Arg Asn Ala Asp Asn Val Thr Val Ala 105 110 115 120 caa ttc gca cac cct tat caa ggt ggc aca gtc gca aaa gta cct gaa 557 Gln Phe Ala His Pro Tyr Gln Gly Gly Thr Val Ala Lys Val Pro Glu 125 130 135 aaa cct act ggt gac gga tat aac tgg aga aaa tac ggt caa aag ctt 605 Lys Pro Thr Gly Asp Gly Tyr Asn Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Leu 140 145 150 gta aaa ggg aat act ttt gtc cga agc tat tac aaa tgt aca ttc ggg 653 Val Lys Gly Asn Thr Phe Val Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr Phe Gly 155 160 165 aat tgc ccg gca aga aaa caa gtg gaa cgt tct aat gat ggg att att 701 Asn Cys Pro Ala Arg Lys Gln Val Glu Arg Ser Asn Asp Gly Ile Ile 170 175 180 acg gaa ata aat tac tta tgg aag cat gaa cac cct aag cct cca cat 749 Thr Glu Ile Asn Tyr Leu Trp Lys His Glu His Pro Lys Pro Pro His 185 190 195 200 aca ctt gtt aaa ggc gca gct att gtt ctt ccg gtt cag tca ata tca 797 Thr Leu Val Lys Gly Ala Ala Ile Val Leu Pro Val Gln Ser Ile Ser 205 210 215 tct gac aag cct tct gaa gac gat tca tct gtg ctc cct gca aca act 845 Ser Asp Lys Pro Ser Glu Asp Asp Ser Ser Val Leu Pro Ala Thr Thr 220 225 230 aat gat cat cag ctt ggg gtg gtt cct gaa agt gag aat gat gtg gaa 893 Asn Asp His Gln Leu Gly Val Val Pro Glu Ser Glu Asn Asp Val Glu 235 240 245 gct gct gtt aag gaa aac aag agt gag ata aat aat gat ttg tca tca 941 Ala Ala Val Lys Glu Asn Lys Ser Glu Ile Asn Asn Asp Leu Ser Ser 250 255 260 gac tca aaa aga cag aag aga gag act tct agc atg aac gac agt att 989 Asp Ser Lys Arg Gln Lys Arg Glu Thr Ser Ser Met Asn Asp Ser Ile 265 270 275 280 tca act aag ata aac tgt gag ccg cga gtt gtc gtt cag aca aca agt 1037 Ser Thr Lys Ile Asn Cys Glu Pro Arg Val Val Val Gln Thr Thr Ser 285 290 295 gta gtt tat att gta aat gat ggc tat agg tgg cgc aaa tat ggg cag 1085 Val Val Tyr Ile Val Asn Asp Gly Tyr Arg Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln 300 305 310 aag tta gtt aaa ggc aat cct aat cca agg agt tat tac cgt tgt act 1133 Lys Leu Val Lys Gly Asn Pro Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Arg Cys Thr 315 320 325 agt gct ggt tgc cct gct aaa aag cac gta gaa cgg gca tct cat gat 1181 Ser Ala Gly Cys Pro Ala Lys Lys His Val Glu Arg Ala Ser His Asp 330 335 340 gaa aaa gtg gtg att aca act tat gaa ggg cgg cat gat cat gat atg 1229 Glu Lys Val Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr Glu Gly Arg His Asp His Asp Met 345 350 355 360 cca gct ggt ggt cga acc gtc act caa aac gtc tca ggg acg ggg acc 1277 Pro Ala Gly Gly Arg Thr Val Thr Gln Asn Val Ser Gly Thr Gly Thr 365 370 375 ggg act ggc cca aca tct gtt gga aat gat ggt tca aga cct caa caa 1325 Gly Thr Gly Pro Thr Ser Val Gly Asn Asp Gly Ser Arg Pro Gln Gln 380 385 390 gag tct agt ggt atg gaa atg gtt ctt cat gtt agt gct aca 1367 Glu Ser Ser Gly Met Glu Met Val Leu His Val Ser Ala Thr 395 400 405 tgagtgcaag tggcaagagt tgtctacntt atcctgttat tcctaatgtt aggtcanaat 1427 gatagtcaca aaatggtttt ttttaacttt taatccntta tgatttgcaa awaaaaatkg 1487 gttatttggt nanttccaga tttcatgaac aggtaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa a 1538 <210> SEQ ID NO 12 <211> LENGTH: 406 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Helianthus annus <400> SEQUENCE: 12 Met Asp Lys Ser Ser Asp Ser Val Glu Leu Thr Asn Asp Ser Asn Ser 1 5 10 15 Gly Asp Pro Ser Asn Gln Glu Thr Lys Ser Glu Ser Thr Lys Val Lys 20 25 30 Glu Ser His Asp Ser Ser Asn Gln Glu Gly Ser Ser Thr Thr Val Leu 35 40 45 Pro Asn Lys Glu Leu Asp Ala Gln Asn Asp Lys Pro Thr Leu His Thr 50 55 60 Glu Ser Ala Arg Ser Glu Ser Val Lys Glu Glu Asn Thr Leu Thr Asp 65 70 75 80 Ser Ser Gln Gln Thr Pro Ala Ser Glu Pro Asp Asp Lys Asn Asn Ile 85 90 95 Val Pro Leu Arg Pro Glu Lys Gly Leu Asp Lys Leu Pro Leu Arg Arg 100 105 110 Asn Ala Asp Asn Val Thr Val Ala Gln Phe Ala His Pro Tyr Gln Gly 115 120 125 Gly Thr Val Ala Lys Val Pro Glu Lys Pro Thr Gly Asp Gly Tyr Asn 130 135 140 Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Leu Val Lys Gly Asn Thr Phe Val Arg 145 150 155 160 Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr Phe Gly Asn Cys Pro Ala Arg Lys Gln Val 165 170 175 Glu Arg Ser Asn Asp Gly Ile Ile Thr Glu Ile Asn Tyr Leu Trp Lys 180 185 190 His Glu His Pro Lys Pro Pro His Thr Leu Val Lys Gly Ala Ala Ile 195 200 205 Val Leu Pro Val Gln Ser Ile Ser Ser Asp Lys Pro Ser Glu Asp Asp 210 215 220 Ser Ser Val Leu Pro Ala Thr Thr Asn Asp His Gln Leu Gly Val Val 225 230 235 240 Pro Glu Ser Glu Asn Asp Val Glu Ala Ala Val Lys Glu Asn Lys Ser 245 250 255 Glu Ile Asn Asn Asp Leu Ser Ser Asp Ser Lys Arg Gln Lys Arg Glu 260 265 270 Thr Ser Ser Met Asn Asp Ser Ile Ser Thr Lys Ile Asn Cys Glu Pro 275 280 285 Arg Val Val Val Gln Thr Thr Ser Val Val Tyr Ile Val Asn Asp Gly 290 295 300 Tyr Arg Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Leu Val Lys Gly Asn Pro Asn 305 310 315 320 Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Arg Cys Thr Ser Ala Gly Cys Pro Ala Lys Lys 325 330 335 His Val Glu Arg Ala Ser His Asp Glu Lys Val Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr 340 345 350 Glu Gly Arg His Asp His Asp Met Pro Ala Gly Gly Arg Thr Val Thr 355 360 365 Gln Asn Val Ser Gly Thr Gly Thr Gly Thr Gly Pro Thr Ser Val Gly 370 375 380 Asn Asp Gly Ser Arg Pro Gln Gln Glu Ser Ser Gly Met Glu Met Val 385 390 395 400 Leu His Val Ser Ala Thr 405 <210> SEQ ID NO 13 <211> LENGTH: 1536 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Helianthus annus <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: CDS <222> LOCATION: (117)...(1355) <400> SEQUENCE: 13 gaattcggct tcgaggatta tcactccggc accttcaatt caacccaaac gagtcgtgtg 60 gtgatactaa cgaagtcaaa tcagcatgca accaagatgt tattgatatc acaata atg 119 Met 1 gac aag tca tcc gac agt gta gag ttg acc aac gac tcc aac agt gga 167 Asp Lys Ser Ser Asp Ser Val Glu Leu Thr Asn Asp Ser Asn Ser Gly 5 10 15 gac ccg tct aat caa gaa aca aaa tcc gag tcg aca aaa gtt aag gag 215 Asp Pro Ser Asn Gln Glu Thr Lys Ser Glu Ser Thr Lys Val Lys Glu 20 25 30 tct cat gat agt tct aac caa gaa gga agt tcc aca acc gta cta cct 263 Ser His Asp Ser Ser Asn Gln Glu Gly Ser Ser Thr Thr Val Leu Pro 35 40 45 aac aaa gag tta gac gct caa aat gac aaa cct acc ctt cat acc gaa 311 Asn Lys Glu Leu Asp Ala Gln Asn Asp Lys Pro Thr Leu His Thr Glu 50 55 60 65 agt gct aga tca gaa tct gtt aaa gaa gaa aac aca ctc acc gac agt 359 Ser Ala Arg Ser Glu Ser Val Lys Glu Glu Asn Thr Leu Thr Asp Ser 70 75 80 tca cag caa act cct gca tca gaa cct gat gat aag aat aat att gtg 407 Ser Gln Gln Thr Pro Ala Ser Glu Pro Asp Asp Lys Asn Asn Ile Val 85 90 95 ccg tta agg cca gag aaa ggg ctt gat aaa tta cca cta aga cgt aat 455 Pro Leu Arg Pro Glu Lys Gly Leu Asp Lys Leu Pro Leu Arg Arg Asn 100 105 110 gct gac aat gtt acg gtt gct caa ttc gca cac cct tat caa ggt ggc 503 Ala Asp Asn Val Thr Val Ala Gln Phe Ala His Pro Tyr Gln Gly Gly 115 120 125 aca gtc gca aaa gta cct gaa aaa cct act ggt gac gga tat aac tgg 551 Thr Val Ala Lys Val Pro Glu Lys Pro Thr Gly Asp Gly Tyr Asn Trp 130 135 140 145 aga aaa tac ggt caa aag ctt gta aaa ggg aat act ttt gtc cga agc 599 Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Leu Val Lys Gly Asn Thr Phe Val Arg Ser 150 155 160 tat tac aaa tgt aca ttc ggg aat tgc ccg gca aga aaa caa gtg gaa 647 Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr Phe Gly Asn Cys Pro Ala Arg Lys Gln Val Glu 165 170 175 cgt tct aat gat ggg att att acg gaa ata aat tac tta tgg aag cat 695 Arg Ser Asn Asp Gly Ile Ile Thr Glu Ile Asn Tyr Leu Trp Lys His 180 185 190 gaa cac cct aag cct cca cat aca ctt gtt aaa ggc gca gct att gtt 743 Glu His Pro Lys Pro Pro His Thr Leu Val Lys Gly Ala Ala Ile Val 195 200 205 ctt ccg gtt cag tca ata tca tct gac aag cct tct gaa gac gat tca 791 Leu Pro Val Gln Ser Ile Ser Ser Asp Lys Pro Ser Glu Asp Asp Ser 210 215 220 225 tct gtg ctc cct gca aca act aat gat cat cag ctt ggg gtg gtt cct 839 Ser Val Leu Pro Ala Thr Thr Asn Asp His Gln Leu Gly Val Val Pro 230 235 240 gaa agt gag aat gat gtg gaa gct gct gtt aag gaa aac aag agt gag 887 Glu Ser Glu Asn Asp Val Glu Ala Ala Val Lys Glu Asn Lys Ser Glu 245 250 255 ata aat aat gat ttg tca tca gac tca aaa aga cag aag aga gag act 935 Ile Asn Asn Asp Leu Ser Ser Asp Ser Lys Arg Gln Lys Arg Glu Thr 260 265 270 tct agc atg aac gac agt att tca act aag ata aac tgt gag ccg cga 983 Ser Ser Met Asn Asp Ser Ile Ser Thr Lys Ile Asn Cys Glu Pro Arg 275 280 285 gtt gtc gtt cag aca aca agt gta gtt gat att gta aat gac ggc tat 1031 Val Val Val Gln Thr Thr Ser Val Val Asp Ile Val Asn Asp Gly Tyr 290 295 300 305 cgg tgg cgc aaa tat ggg cag aaa ttg gtg aaa ggc aat agt aat cca 1079 Arg Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Leu Val Lys Gly Asn Ser Asn Pro 310 315 320 agg agt tat tac cgg tgt aca agt gct ggt tgc acc gct aaa aaa cat 1127 Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Arg Cys Thr Ser Ala Gly Cys Thr Ala Lys Lys His 325 330 335 gtg gaa cgc tca tct cat gac gaa aaa gtg gtg att acg act tat gag 1175 Val Glu Arg Ser Ser His Asp Glu Lys Val Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr Glu 340 345 350 ggg cgg cat gat cat gaa atg cct gga ggt gtt ggt gct aat gct ggt 1223 Gly Arg His Asp His Glu Met Pro Gly Gly Val Gly Ala Asn Ala Gly 355 360 365 gct cga acc gtt gct caa aat gtc tcg gga act ggg acc ggg gcc ggt 1271 Ala Arg Thr Val Ala Gln Asn Val Ser Gly Thr Gly Thr Gly Ala Gly 370 375 380 385 cca aca tcg gtt gaa aat gat ggt aca aga gct caa cca gaa tct ggt 1319 Pro Thr Ser Val Glu Asn Asp Gly Thr Arg Ala Gln Pro Glu Ser Gly 390 395 400 ggt agg gaa atg gtt tta cat gtt agt att gct aca tgagccacaa 1365 Gly Arg Glu Met Val Leu His Val Ser Ile Ala Thr 405 410 gtactatggt aatctaattt accctatggt tctaccttag gtcttaatgg tagtcatgta 1425 gtgttgttat ataccatata tctttatgat ttgcagatta aagattggat tatttggatg 1485 agttataaat atcatgaaca agtatttata tttgaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa a 1536 <210> SEQ ID NO 14 <211> LENGTH: 413 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Helianthus annus <400> SEQUENCE: 14 Met Asp Lys Ser Ser Asp Ser Val Glu Leu Thr Asn Asp Ser Asn Ser 1 5 10 15 Gly Asp Pro Ser Asn Gln Glu Thr Lys Ser Glu Ser Thr Lys Val Lys 20 25 30 Glu Ser His Asp Ser Ser Asn Gln Glu Gly Ser Ser Thr Thr Val Leu 35 40 45 Pro Asn Lys Glu Leu Asp Ala Gln Asn Asp Lys Pro Thr Leu His Thr 50 55 60 Glu Ser Ala Arg Ser Glu Ser Val Lys Glu Glu Asn Thr Leu Thr Asp 65 70 75 80 Ser Ser Gln Gln Thr Pro Ala Ser Glu Pro Asp Asp Lys Asn Asn Ile 85 90 95 Val Pro Leu Arg Pro Glu Lys Gly Leu Asp Lys Leu Pro Leu Arg Arg 100 105 110 Asn Ala Asp Asn Val Thr Val Ala Gln Phe Ala His Pro Tyr Gln Gly 115 120 125 Gly Thr Val Ala Lys Val Pro Glu Lys Pro Thr Gly Asp Gly Tyr Asn 130 135 140 Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Leu Val Lys Gly Asn Thr Phe Val Arg 145 150 155 160 Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr Phe Gly Asn Cys Pro Ala Arg Lys Gln Val 165 170 175 Glu Arg Ser Asn Asp Gly Ile Ile Thr Glu Ile Asn Tyr Leu Trp Lys 180 185 190 His Glu His Pro Lys Pro Pro His Thr Leu Val Lys Gly Ala Ala Ile 195 200 205 Val Leu Pro Val Gln Ser Ile Ser Ser Asp Lys Pro Ser Glu Asp Asp 210 215 220 Ser Ser Val Leu Pro Ala Thr Thr Asn Asp His Gln Leu Gly Val Val 225 230 235 240 Pro Glu Ser Glu Asn Asp Val Glu Ala Ala Val Lys Glu Asn Lys Ser 245 250 255 Glu Ile Asn Asn Asp Leu Ser Ser Asp Ser Lys Arg Gln Lys Arg Glu 260 265 270 Thr Ser Ser Met Asn Asp Ser Ile Ser Thr Lys Ile Asn Cys Glu Pro 275 280 285 Arg Val Val Val Gln Thr Thr Ser Val Val Asp Ile Val Asn Asp Gly 290 295 300 Tyr Arg Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Leu Val Lys Gly Asn Ser Asn 305 310 315 320 Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Arg Cys Thr Ser Ala Gly Cys Thr Ala Lys Lys 325 330 335 His Val Glu Arg Ser Ser His Asp Glu Lys Val Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr 340 345 350 Glu Gly Arg His Asp His Glu Met Pro Gly Gly Val Gly Ala Asn Ala 355 360 365 Gly Ala Arg Thr Val Ala Gln Asn Val Ser Gly Thr Gly Thr Gly Ala 370 375 380 Gly Pro Thr Ser Val Glu Asn Asp Gly Thr Arg Ala Gln Pro Glu Ser 385 390 395 400 Gly Gly Arg Glu Met Val Leu His Val Ser Ile Ala Thr 405 410 <210> SEQ ID NO 15 <211> LENGTH: 1617 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Helianthus annus <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: CDS <222> LOCATION: (137)...(1426) <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(1617) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: n = A,T,C or G <400> SEQUENCE: 15 gattacgcca agcttggtac cgagctcgaa tccacttagt aacggccgcc agtgtgctgg 60 aattcggctt cgaggattat cactcccgca ccttcaattc aaccataaag tattagatgg 120 aactgaaatt acaata atg gac aag tca tct gac agt caa gag ttg acc aac 172 Met Asp Lys Ser Ser Asp Ser Gln Glu Leu Thr Asn 1 5 10 gac tcc aac agt gga gac gtg tct aat caa gaa aca aaa tcc gag tca 220 Asp Ser Asn Ser Gly Asp Val Ser Asn Gln Glu Thr Lys Ser Glu Ser 15 20 25 aca aaa gtc aag gag tct cac gat agt tct aac caa gaa gga agt tcc 268 Thr Lys Val Lys Glu Ser His Asp Ser Ser Asn Gln Glu Gly Ser Ser 30 35 40 aca acc ata cag cac aac aaa gag tta gac ggt cga cat gat aaa cct 316 Thr Thr Ile Gln His Asn Lys Glu Leu Asp Gly Arg His Asp Lys Pro 45 50 55 60 act tct cat aac gaa agt gct aga tca gaa tct tta caa gaa gaa aac 364 Thr Ser His Asn Glu Ser Ala Arg Ser Glu Ser Leu Gln Glu Glu Asn 65 70 75 acg atg gtt ata acg cca aaa aac gcc act acc act tca cag caa gct 412 Thr Met Val Ile Thr Pro Lys Asn Ala Thr Thr Thr Ser Gln Gln Ala 80 85 90 ccc gca tca gaa tcc gac aat gaa agg ttt att gtg gcg tta agg ccc 460 Pro Ala Ser Glu Ser Asp Asn Glu Arg Phe Ile Val Ala Leu Arg Pro 95 100 105 gag aaa ggg ctc aat aaa cta cca tta aga cgt aac gct gac aat gtt 508 Glu Lys Gly Leu Asn Lys Leu Pro Leu Arg Arg Asn Ala Asp Asn Val 110 115 120 acc gtt gca caa tcc gca cct tct gat caa ggt gtt acg ttc tca aaa 556 Thr Val Ala Gln Ser Ala Pro Ser Asp Gln Gly Val Thr Phe Ser Lys 125 130 135 140 cta cct gaa aaa cca act ggt gac gga tat aac tgg aga aaa tac ggt 604 Leu Pro Glu Lys Pro Thr Gly Asp Gly Tyr Asn Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly 145 150 155 caa aag ctt gtg aaa ggg aat acg ttt att cga agc tat tac aaa tgt 652 Gln Lys Leu Val Lys Gly Asn Thr Phe Ile Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys 160 165 170 acg ttt gct agt tgt cca gcg aga aaa caa gtg gaa cgt aca cac gat 700 Thr Phe Ala Ser Cys Pro Ala Arg Lys Gln Val Glu Arg Thr His Asp 175 180 185 ggg aat att acg gaa ata aat tac tta tgg aag cat gaa cac cct aaa 748 Gly Asn Ile Thr Glu Ile Asn Tyr Leu Trp Lys His Glu His Pro Lys 190 195 200 cct cca cat acg ctt gtt aaa ggc tcg gct tct gtt atg cct ctt cca 796 Pro Pro His Thr Leu Val Lys Gly Ser Ala Ser Val Met Pro Leu Pro 205 210 215 220 tca aaa gct tct cac gag cct tct gaa gac cgt tca tct gtg ctt ccg 844 Ser Lys Ala Ser His Glu Pro Ser Glu Asp Arg Ser Ser Val Leu Pro 225 230 235 gcg aca tct cat gat caa gag gtg tcg gaa aca gac acg cat caa ctt 892 Ala Thr Ser His Asp Gln Glu Val Ser Glu Thr Asp Thr His Gln Leu 240 245 250 gcg gtg cat cct gta aat gat aat aat gtg gaa gct gat gtt aag gtg 940 Ala Val His Pro Val Asn Asp Asn Asn Val Glu Ala Asp Val Lys Val 255 260 265 aat gaa agg aaa agt gag atg aat aac gat tta tca tcg gac gtg aag 988 Asn Glu Arg Lys Ser Glu Met Asn Asn Asp Leu Ser Ser Asp Val Lys 270 275 280 aga cag aag aga gag act ttt agc atg agt gaa ggt att cca act aag 1036 Arg Gln Lys Arg Glu Thr Phe Ser Met Ser Glu Gly Ile Pro Thr Lys 285 290 295 300 aca aac tgt gag ccg cga gtg gtt gtt cag aca acc agc gta gtt gat 1084 Thr Asn Cys Glu Pro Arg Val Val Val Gln Thr Thr Ser Val Val Asp 305 310 315 gtc gta aat gac ggc tat cgg tgg cgc aaa tat ggg cag aaa ttg gtg 1132 Val Val Asn Asp Gly Tyr Arg Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Leu Val 320 325 330 aaa ggc aat agt aat cca agg agt tat tac cgg tgt aca agt gct ggt 1180 Lys Gly Asn Ser Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Arg Cys Thr Ser Ala Gly 335 340 345 tgc acc gct aaa aaa cat gtg gaa cgc tca tct cat gac gaa aaa gtg 1228 Cys Thr Ala Lys Lys His Val Glu Arg Ser Ser His Asp Glu Lys Val 350 355 360 gtg att acg act tat gag ggg cgg cat gat cat gaa atg cct gga ggt 1276 Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr Glu Gly Arg His Asp His Glu Met Pro Gly Gly 365 370 375 380 gtt ggt gct aat gct ggt gct cga acc gtt gct caa aat gtc tcg gga 1324 Val Gly Ala Asn Ala Gly Ala Arg Thr Val Ala Gln Asn Val Ser Gly 385 390 395 act ggg acc ggg gcc ggt cca aca tcg gtt gaa aat gat ggt aca aga 1372 Thr Gly Thr Gly Ala Gly Pro Thr Ser Val Glu Asn Asp Gly Thr Arg 400 405 410 gct caa cca gaa tct ggt ggt agg gaa atg gtt tta cat gtt agt act 1420 Ala Gln Pro Glu Ser Gly Gly Arg Glu Met Val Leu His Val Ser Thr 415 420 425 gct aca tgagccacaa gtactatggt tatctaattt accctatggt tctaccttag 1476 Ala Thr 430 gtcttaatgg tagtcatgta gtgttgttat ataccatata tctttatgat ttgcaggtta 1536 aagattggct taaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaanacc 1596 aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa a 1617 <210> SEQ ID NO 16 <211> LENGTH: 430 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Helianthus annus <400> SEQUENCE: 16 Met Asp Lys Ser Ser Asp Ser Gln Glu Leu Thr Asn Asp Ser Asn Ser 1 5 10 15 Gly Asp Val Ser Asn Gln Glu Thr Lys Ser Glu Ser Thr Lys Val Lys 20 25 30 Glu Ser His Asp Ser Ser Asn Gln Glu Gly Ser Ser Thr Thr Ile Gln 35 40 45 His Asn Lys Glu Leu Asp Gly Arg His Asp Lys Pro Thr Ser His Asn 50 55 60 Glu Ser Ala Arg Ser Glu Ser Leu Gln Glu Glu Asn Thr Met Val Ile 65 70 75 80 Thr Pro Lys Asn Ala Thr Thr Thr Ser Gln Gln Ala Pro Ala Ser Glu 85 90 95 Ser Asp Asn Glu Arg Phe Ile Val Ala Leu Arg Pro Glu Lys Gly Leu 100 105 110 Asn Lys Leu Pro Leu Arg Arg Asn Ala Asp Asn Val Thr Val Ala Gln 115 120 125 Ser Ala Pro Ser Asp Gln Gly Val Thr Phe Ser Lys Leu Pro Glu Lys 130 135 140 Pro Thr Gly Asp Gly Tyr Asn Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Leu Val 145 150 155 160 Lys Gly Asn Thr Phe Ile Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr Phe Ala Ser 165 170 175 Cys Pro Ala Arg Lys Gln Val Glu Arg Thr His Asp Gly Asn Ile Thr 180 185 190 Glu Ile Asn Tyr Leu Trp Lys His Glu His Pro Lys Pro Pro His Thr 195 200 205 Leu Val Lys Gly Ser Ala Ser Val Met Pro Leu Pro Ser Lys Ala Ser 210 215 220 His Glu Pro Ser Glu Asp Arg Ser Ser Val Leu Pro Ala Thr Ser His 225 230 235 240 Asp Gln Glu Val Ser Glu Thr Asp Thr His Gln Leu Ala Val His Pro 245 250 255 Val Asn Asp Asn Asn Val Glu Ala Asp Val Lys Val Asn Glu Arg Lys 260 265 270 Ser Glu Met Asn Asn Asp Leu Ser Ser Asp Val Lys Arg Gln Lys Arg 275 280 285 Glu Thr Phe Ser Met Ser Glu Gly Ile Pro Thr Lys Thr Asn Cys Glu 290 295 300 Pro Arg Val Val Val Gln Thr Thr Ser Val Val Asp Val Val Asn Asp 305 310 315 320 Gly Tyr Arg Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Leu Val Lys Gly Asn Ser 325 330 335 Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Arg Cys Thr Ser Ala Gly Cys Thr Ala Lys 340 345 350 Lys His Val Glu Arg Ser Ser His Asp Glu Lys Val Val Ile Thr Thr 355 360 365 Tyr Glu Gly Arg His Asp His Glu Met Pro Gly Gly Val Gly Ala Asn 370 375 380 Ala Gly Ala Arg Thr Val Ala Gln Asn Val Ser Gly Thr Gly Thr Gly 385 390 395 400 Ala Gly Pro Thr Ser Val Glu Asn Asp Gly Thr Arg Ala Gln Pro Glu 405 410 415 Ser Gly Gly Arg Glu Met Val Leu His Val Ser Thr Ala Thr 420 425 430 <210> SEQ ID NO 17 <211> LENGTH: 313 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Oryza sativa <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(313) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: n = A,T,C or G <400> SEQUENCE: 17 ggcatagctt gtgctggagc aggagcaaga gcagcaagtg gtcgagtcga gcaagaacgg 60 ngccgccgcc gcgtcgagca acaagagcgg cggcggcggg aacaacaagc tggaggacgg 120 gtacaactgg aggaagtacg ggcagaagca ggtgaagggg agcgagaacc cgaggagcta 180 ctacaagtgc acctacaacg gctgcnccat gaagaagaag gtggagcgct cgctcgccga 240 cggccgcatc acccagatcg tctacaaggg cgcacacaan caccccaagc cgctctccac 300 ccgnngcaac gcc 313 <210> SEQ ID NO 18 <211> LENGTH: 102 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Oryza sativa <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: VARIANT <222> LOCATION: (1)...(102) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: Xaa = Any Amino Acid <400> SEQUENCE: 18 Leu Val Leu Glu Gln Glu Gln Glu Gln Gln Val Val Glu Ser Ser Lys 1 5 10 15 Asn Gly Ala Ala Ala Ala Ser Ser Asn Lys Ser Gly Gly Gly Gly Asn 20 25 30 Asn Lys Leu Glu Asp Gly Tyr Asn Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Gln 35 40 45 Val Lys Gly Ser Glu Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr Tyr Asn 50 55 60 Gly Cys Xaa Met Lys Lys Lys Val Glu Arg Ser Leu Ala Asp Gly Arg 65 70 75 80 Ile Thr Gln Ile Val Tyr Lys Gly Ala His Xaa His Pro Lys Pro Leu 85 90 95 Ser Thr Arg Xaa Asn Ala 100 <210> SEQ ID NO 19 <211> LENGTH: 626 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Oryza sativa <400> SEQUENCE: 19 ccacgcgtcc gccgagatct gcgcccggca gcggcggcga actccggtga accaaccatg 60 gccgtggacc tgatgggctg ctacgccccg cgccgcgcag acgaccagct cgccatccag 120 gaggcggcca ccgccggcct ccgcagcctg gagatgctcg tgtcgtccct ctcctcctcc 180 tctcaggccg ccggggctca caaggcctcg ccgcagcagc agccgttcgg cgagatcgcc 240 gaccaggccg tctccaagtt ccgcaaggtc atctccatcc tcgaccgcac cggccacgcc 300 cgcttccgcc gcggcccggt cgagtcgtct gctcccgccg cccccgtcgc tgctgctccc 360 cctcctcctc ctccaccacc ggcgccggtc gctgccgccc tcgcgccgac ctcctcgcag 420 ccgcagaccc tgacgctgga cttcacgaag ccgaacctga ccatgtcggc cgcgacgtcc 480 gtgacatcca cgtcgttctt ctcgtcggtg acggccggcg agggaagcgt ttccaagggc 540 cggagcctgc tctcctccgg caagccgccg ctgtctgggc acaagcggaa gccctgcgcc 600 ggcggccact ccgaggccac cgccaa 626 <210> SEQ ID NO 20 <211> LENGTH: 189 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Oryza sativa <400> SEQUENCE: 20 Met Ala Val Asp Leu Met Gly Cys Tyr Ala Pro Arg Arg Ala Asp Asp 1 5 10 15 Gln Leu Ala Ile Gln Glu Ala Ala Thr Ala Gly Leu Arg Ser Leu Glu 20 25 30 Met Leu Val Ser Ser Leu Ser Ser Ser Ser Gln Ala Ala Gly Ala His 35 40 45 Lys Ala Ser Pro Gln Gln Gln Pro Phe Gly Glu Ile Ala Asp Gln Ala 50 55 60 Val Ser Lys Phe Arg Lys Val Ile Ser Ile Leu Asp Arg Thr Gly His 65 70 75 80 Ala Arg Phe Arg Arg Gly Pro Val Glu Ser Ser Ala Pro Ala Ala Pro 85 90 95 Val Ala Ala Ala Pro Pro Pro Pro Pro Pro Pro Pro Ala Pro Val Ala 100 105 110 Ala Ala Leu Ala Pro Thr Ser Ser Gln Pro Gln Thr Leu Thr Leu Asp 115 120 125 Phe Thr Lys Pro Asn Leu Thr Met Ser Ala Ala Thr Ser Val Thr Ser 130 135 140 Thr Ser Phe Phe Ser Ser Val Thr Ala Gly Glu Gly Ser Val Ser Lys 145 150 155 160 Gly Arg Ser Leu Leu Ser Ser Gly Lys Pro Pro Leu Ser Gly His Lys 165 170 175 Arg Lys Pro Cys Ala Gly Gly His Ser Glu Ala Thr Ala 180 185 <210> SEQ ID NO 21 <211> LENGTH: 522 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Glycine max <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(522) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: n = A,T,C or G <400> SEQUENCE: 21 tgagggtcaa caaggaaaca aggaggaaga gagaaactac tctgacctct ctttcctaac 60 aaaaacaaac cacgtgcctc tctttcaatc ttccacaacc atgtttcaag tggagccact 120 aaagaaacag gacacaatga tatccagtga agctgcaaag caaacagatt tctcatctga 180 gaggacagaa acaaaacctg aatatccatc tactcagggc ttctcagcag cattagcctc 240 aatcaaacct gaaatacaaa gcaattctgc tcctggttct gttcatttta actccactta 300 tgctcctaag tctattaggg aacaaaagag atcagaagat ggttacaatt ggaggaagta 360 tggagagaaa caagtgaaag gaagcgaaaa tccgcgtagt tattacaagt gcacgcaccc 420 gagttgtcca acaaagaaga aagttgagaa gtcnttggga gggacatatc actgaaatat 480 atacaaggga agccacatca tccaagcact tggtanaaaa aa 522 <210> SEQ ID NO 22 <211> LENGTH: 173 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Glycine max <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: VARIANT <222> LOCATION: (1)...(173) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: Xaa = Any Amino Acid <400> SEQUENCE: 22 Glu Gly Gln Gln Gly Asn Lys Glu Glu Glu Arg Asn Tyr Ser Asp Leu 1 5 10 15 Ser Phe Leu Thr Lys Thr Asn His Val Pro Leu Phe Gln Ser Ser Thr 20 25 30 Thr Met Phe Gln Val Glu Pro Leu Lys Lys Gln Asp Thr Met Ile Ser 35 40 45 Ser Glu Ala Ala Lys Gln Thr Asp Phe Ser Ser Glu Arg Thr Glu Thr 50 55 60 Lys Pro Glu Tyr Pro Ser Thr Gln Gly Phe Ser Ala Ala Leu Ala Ser 65 70 75 80 Ile Lys Pro Glu Ile Gln Ser Asn Ser Ala Pro Gly Ser Val His Phe 85 90 95 Asn Ser Thr Tyr Ala Pro Lys Ser Ile Arg Glu Gln Lys Arg Ser Glu 100 105 110 Asp Gly Tyr Asn Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Glu Lys Gln Val Lys Gly Ser 115 120 125 Glu Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr His Pro Ser Cys Pro Thr 130 135 140 Lys Lys Lys Val Glu Lys Ser Leu Gly Gly Thr Tyr His Xaa Asn Ile 145 150 155 160 Tyr Lys Gly Ser His Ile Ile Gln Ala Leu Gly Xaa Lys 165 170 <210> SEQ ID NO 23 <211> LENGTH: 2343 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Glycine max <400> SEQUENCE: 23 cagtttctga gagagagatg agagatccat ccttacaact aaaactatgt ctcactctct 60 acattcacat ttcacacaca catacccttc ccctgaaatg acccttttgc ccttctctct 120 cggccttcat cttcttcttc tcctttgact caacaacccc ccctctctct ctttcacaca 180 gagagatact ttctctctct acaccgcaat ggacgccggc gaagccctct ccgacgatcc 240 gaatcggccc aattccgccg ccgacgcagc tccggccccc gcgggagcaa ggtacaagct 300 cctgtcgccg gctaagctcc cgatctcccg ctccccgtgc gtcacgattt cgccggggct 360 cagtccgacg tcgtttctcg agtcgccggt gctgctctcc aacatgaagg tggaaccttc 420 accgactaca gggtcgcttt ctttgcttca tcaaacagca tatggttcca tgacttctgc 480 tgcatctgct acatttcctg taccactgtg tgcttcaata gcaataccgt tgatgagaga 540 aaacctagct ttctttgagt ttaaaccaca cagtggatca aatatggttc ccgcagactt 600 tgacaaccat gcaagtgaaa aatctactca aatagacagt caaggaaaag ctcaagcttt 660 tgattcatca gccttagtaa aaaatgagtc agcatcccct tcaaatgaat taagtctatc 720 atcgcctgtc aaatggattg ctcaggaagc tagtgcccgt gttgaaggtg atttggatga 780 attgaaccct aggagcaaca taacaactgg gcttcaagca tcacaagttg acaatagagg 840 tagtggactt accgttgcag ctgagcgagt atctgatgat ggatacaact ggagaaaata 900 tgggcaaaaa catgttaaag gaagtgaatt tccacgcagt tattacaaat gtacacatcc 960 taactgtgaa gttaagaaac tatttgaacg ctcccatgat ggacaaatca ctgagataat 1020 ttacaaggga acacatgatc atcctaaacc tcaaccaaac cgccgttact ctgcaggaac 1080 tataatgtct gtgcaagaag acagatctga taaagcttct ttgactagcc gagatgacaa 1140 aggatccaat atgtgtggcc aggggtctca cctggctgag cccgacggta aaccagagtt 1200 attgcctgta gcaacaaatg atggtgatct agatggtttg ggggttttgt caaaccggaa 1260 taatgatgag gttgatgatg atgatccctt ctcaaagcga agaaaaatgg acgttggaat 1320 tgctgacatc actcctgtag ttaagcctat ccgggagcca cgtgttgttg tacaaactct 1380 gagtgaggtt gatatcttgg atgatggcta tcgctggcgc aagtatgggc agaaggtggt 1440 gagaggcaat cctaacccta ggagttatta caaatgcacg aacaccggtt gccccgttag 1500 aaaacacgtg gagagggcat ctcatgatcc aaaagctgtg attaccacgt atgaggggaa 1560 acacaatcat gatgtaccaa ctgcaaggaa tagttgccat gacatggcag gaccagcaag 1620 tgcaagtgga cagacaagag ttaggcccga agaaagtgat accatcagcc ttgaccttgg 1680 gatgggaatt agcccagctg ccgaaaacac atcaaacagt caagggagaa tgatgctttc 1740 tgaatttggg gatagtcaaa ttcacaccag caattccaat ttcaagttcg ttcataccac 1800 gaccgcgccg gggtactttg gtgttctaaa taacaactct aacccatatg gttctaaaga 1860 aaatccaagt gatggtccat ctttaaacca ttctgcttat ccttgccctc agaacatagg 1920 gagaatacta atgggtcctt gaaattgttt gtaaaacaaa aaattaaata aaatgaaatt 1980 ctgagttcca ttttgccttt ttttttggcg ggtaaagctt taaaggcata gctcctcatt 2040 ttctcttcgg aaatgctgat agttctttta tgttcatatc tttatatgat aagagctgct 2100 ctttagcaga attagcagta gctgtgcccc ttcaggttga ctcttaaatc taattgatgt 2160 ttgtataatt tatatacaga tttcttctgt acaaatatga agcttatacc aaagttgctt 2220 caacaaaaaa ccttgtaaaa gtgtttggat tcaactattt ataagaagta gcttttagcc 2280 tgttcttgaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa 2340 aaa 2343 <210> SEQ ID NO 24 <211> LENGTH: 577 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Glycine max <400> SEQUENCE: 24 Met Asp Ala Gly Glu Ala Leu Ser Asp Asp Pro Asn Arg Pro Asn Ser 1 5 10 15 Ala Ala Asp Ala Ala Pro Ala Pro Ala Gly Ala Arg Tyr Lys Leu Leu 20 25 30 Ser Pro Ala Lys Leu Pro Ile Ser Arg Ser Pro Cys Val Thr Ile Ser 35 40 45 Pro Gly Leu Ser Pro Thr Ser Phe Leu Glu Ser Pro Val Leu Leu Ser 50 55 60 Asn Met Lys Val Glu Pro Ser Pro Thr Thr Gly Ser Leu Ser Leu Leu 65 70 75 80 His Gln Thr Ala Tyr Gly Ser Met Thr Ser Ala Ala Ser Ala Thr Phe 85 90 95 Pro Val Pro Leu Cys Ala Ser Ile Ala Ile Pro Leu Met Arg Glu Asn 100 105 110 Leu Ala Phe Phe Glu Phe Lys Pro His Ser Gly Ser Asn Met Val Pro 115 120 125 Ala Asp Phe Asp Asn His Ala Ser Glu Lys Ser Thr Gln Ile Asp Ser 130 135 140 Gln Gly Lys Ala Gln Ala Phe Asp Ser Ser Ala Leu Val Lys Asn Glu 145 150 155 160 Ser Ala Ser Pro Ser Asn Glu Leu Ser Leu Ser Ser Pro Val Lys Trp 165 170 175 Ile Ala Gln Glu Ala Ser Ala Arg Val Glu Gly Asp Leu Asp Glu Leu 180 185 190 Asn Pro Arg Ser Asn Ile Thr Thr Gly Leu Gln Ala Ser Gln Val Asp 195 200 205 Asn Arg Gly Ser Gly Leu Thr Val Ala Ala Glu Arg Val Ser Asp Asp 210 215 220 Gly Tyr Asn Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys His Val Lys Gly Ser Glu 225 230 235 240 Phe Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr His Pro Asn Cys Glu Val Lys 245 250 255 Lys Leu Phe Glu Arg Ser His Asp Gly Gln Ile Thr Glu Ile Ile Tyr 260 265 270 Lys Gly Thr His Asp His Pro Lys Pro Gln Pro Asn Arg Arg Tyr Ser 275 280 285 Ala Gly Thr Ile Met Ser Val Gln Glu Asp Arg Ser Asp Lys Ala Ser 290 295 300 Leu Thr Ser Arg Asp Asp Lys Gly Ser Asn Met Cys Gly Gln Gly Ser 305 310 315 320 His Leu Ala Glu Pro Asp Gly Lys Pro Glu Leu Leu Pro Val Ala Thr 325 330 335 Asn Asp Gly Asp Leu Asp Gly Leu Gly Val Leu Ser Asn Arg Asn Asn 340 345 350 Asp Glu Val Asp Asp Asp Asp Pro Phe Ser Lys Arg Arg Lys Met Asp 355 360 365 Val Gly Ile Ala Asp Ile Thr Pro Val Val Lys Pro Ile Arg Glu Pro 370 375 380 Arg Val Val Val Gln Thr Leu Ser Glu Val Asp Ile Leu Asp Asp Gly 385 390 395 400 Tyr Arg Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Val Val Arg Gly Asn Pro Asn 405 410 415 Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr Asn Thr Gly Cys Pro Val Arg Lys 420 425 430 His Val Glu Arg Ala Ser His Asp Pro Lys Ala Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr 435 440 445 Glu Gly Lys His Asn His Asp Val Pro Thr Ala Arg Asn Ser Cys His 450 455 460 Asp Met Ala Gly Pro Ala Ser Ala Ser Gly Gln Thr Arg Val Arg Pro 465 470 475 480 Glu Glu Ser Asp Thr Ile Ser Leu Asp Leu Gly Met Gly Ile Ser Pro 485 490 495 Ala Ala Glu Asn Thr Ser Asn Ser Gln Gly Arg Met Met Leu Ser Glu 500 505 510 Phe Gly Asp Ser Gln Ile His Thr Ser Asn Ser Asn Phe Lys Phe Val 515 520 525 His Thr Thr Thr Ala Pro Gly Tyr Phe Gly Val Leu Asn Asn Asn Ser 530 535 540 Asn Pro Tyr Gly Ser Lys Glu Asn Pro Ser Asp Gly Pro Ser Leu Asn 545 550 555 560 His Ser Ala Tyr Pro Cys Pro Gln Asn Ile Gly Arg Ile Leu Met Gly 565 570 575 Pro <210> SEQ ID NO 25 <211> LENGTH: 519 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Glycine max <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(519) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: n = A,T,C or G <400> SEQUENCE: 25 ggagaatata gcgatacaag aagctgcttc cgctgggttg aagagtatgg agcatctgat 60 tcgtgtgctt tcttctcaaa tcccttcttc tgcttcgtct tcttctaacg cacaccacca 120 ccgtcttaat ctcaaccacc ttgactgcac cgaaatcacc gacttcactg tctccaagtt 180 caaacaagtc atcaacttgt tgaatcgcac gggacacgct cgctttcgta gcgcaccttc 240 tcatccttct ccttctactt ctcttccttc tcaacctcaa cctcaaccac aaccacaacc 300 atatgcactg actcttgatt tcgcaaaacc tgttatgctt aagtcaaatc ccaaccctaa 360 cccttcttct accgatttgt cggtttctca atattctaag accaaggaca ccaccacctt 420 tagtatatct cctcccgtgt ccaccaccac ctcctcattc atgtcctcca tcaccgccga 480 cggaagtgtc tccgacggaa agatngggcc cgccatcaa 519 <210> SEQ ID NO 26 <211> LENGTH: 172 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Glycine max <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: VARIANT <222> LOCATION: (1)...(172) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: Xaa = Any Amino Acid <400> SEQUENCE: 26 Glu Asn Ile Ala Ile Gln Glu Ala Ala Ser Ala Gly Leu Lys Ser Met 1 5 10 15 Glu His Leu Ile Arg Val Leu Ser Ser Gln Ile Pro Ser Ser Ala Ser 20 25 30 Ser Ser Ser Asn Ala His His His Arg Leu Asn Leu Asn His Leu Asp 35 40 45 Cys Thr Glu Ile Thr Asp Phe Thr Val Ser Lys Phe Lys Gln Val Ile 50 55 60 Asn Leu Leu Asn Arg Thr Gly His Ala Arg Phe Arg Ser Ala Pro Ser 65 70 75 80 His Pro Ser Pro Ser Thr Ser Leu Pro Ser Gln Pro Gln Pro Gln Pro 85 90 95 Gln Pro Gln Pro Tyr Ala Leu Thr Leu Asp Phe Ala Lys Pro Val Met 100 105 110 Leu Lys Ser Asn Pro Asn Pro Asn Pro Ser Ser Thr Asp Leu Ser Val 115 120 125 Ser Gln Tyr Ser Lys Thr Lys Asp Thr Thr Thr Phe Ser Ile Ser Pro 130 135 140 Pro Val Ser Thr Thr Thr Ser Ser Phe Met Ser Ser Ile Thr Ala Asp 145 150 155 160 Gly Ser Val Ser Asp Gly Lys Xaa Gly Pro Ala Ile 165 170 <210> SEQ ID NO 27 <211> LENGTH: 961 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Triticum aestivum <400> SEQUENCE: 27 caacaacaag caggttgagg acggatacaa ttggaggaag tacgggcaga agcaagttaa 60 gggcagcgag aacccgcgga gctactacaa gtgcacctac aacaattgct ccatgaagaa 120 gaaagtggaa cgctctcttg cagacggccg catcacgcag attgtctaca agggcgcgca 180 tgatcacccg aagcccccct ccacgcgccg caactcctcc ggctgtgcgg cggtcattgc 240 ggaggatcat accaacggct cggagcactc tggcccgacg cctgagaatt catccgtcac 300 attcggagac gatgaggccg acaatggcgc tgagcctgag accaagcgcc ggaaggagca 360 cggtgacaac gagggcagtt caggtggcac cggcgcctgc gtgaagcccg tgcgcgagcc 420 caggcttgtg gtgcagacgc tgagcgatat agacatactc gacgacggct tccggtggag 480 gaagtacggg cagaaggttg tcaagggcaa tcccaacccc aggagctact acaagtgcac 540 aacggtgggt tgcccggtgc gcaagcacgt ggagcgggcc tcgcacgaca accgcgcggt 600 gattaccacc tacgagggta ggcacagcca cgacgtgccg gtcggcaggg gggccggtgc 660 cagccgcgcg ctgccgacgt cgtcttcctc cgacagctcg gtcgtcgtct gtcctgccgc 720 cgccgggcag gccccgtaca ccctcgagat gctcgccaac cctgccgccg gacaccgagg 780 ctacgcggcc aaggacgaac cccgggacga catgttcgtc gagtcgctcc tctgctagct 840 agcaggctcg gccgcggctc ttcgttcccc tgtggcgttt acatgtgcgt ccacatgtac 900 aatatgatac agtagctgca acatgttttt ttagttgatg cttaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa 960 a 961 <210> SEQ ID NO 28 <211> LENGTH: 278 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Triticum aestivum <400> SEQUENCE: 28 Asn Asn Lys Gln Val Glu Asp Gly Tyr Asn Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln 1 5 10 15 Lys Gln Val Lys Gly Ser Glu Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr 20 25 30 Tyr Asn Asn Cys Ser Met Lys Lys Lys Val Glu Arg Ser Leu Ala Asp 35 40 45 Gly Arg Ile Thr Gln Ile Val Tyr Lys Gly Ala His Asp His Pro Lys 50 55 60 Pro Pro Ser Thr Arg Arg Asn Ser Ser Gly Cys Ala Ala Val Ile Ala 65 70 75 80 Glu Asp His Thr Asn Gly Ser Glu His Ser Gly Pro Thr Pro Glu Asn 85 90 95 Ser Ser Val Thr Phe Gly Asp Asp Glu Ala Asp Asn Gly Ala Glu Pro 100 105 110 Glu Thr Lys Arg Arg Lys Glu His Gly Asp Asn Glu Gly Ser Ser Gly 115 120 125 Gly Thr Gly Ala Cys Val Lys Pro Val Arg Glu Pro Arg Leu Val Val 130 135 140 Gln Thr Leu Ser Asp Ile Asp Ile Leu Asp Asp Gly Phe Arg Trp Arg 145 150 155 160 Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Val Val Lys Gly Asn Pro Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr 165 170 175 Tyr Lys Cys Thr Thr Val Gly Cys Pro Val Arg Lys His Val Glu Arg 180 185 190 Ala Ser His Asp Asn Arg Ala Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr Glu Gly Arg His 195 200 205 Ser His Asp Val Pro Val Gly Arg Gly Ala Gly Ala Ser Arg Ala Leu 210 215 220 Pro Thr Ser Ser Ser Ser Asp Ser Ser Val Val Val Cys Pro Ala Ala 225 230 235 240 Ala Gly Gln Ala Pro Tyr Thr Leu Glu Met Leu Ala Asn Pro Ala Ala 245 250 255 Gly His Arg Gly Tyr Ala Ala Lys Asp Glu Pro Arg Asp Asp Met Phe 260 265 270 Val Glu Ser Leu Leu Cys 275 <210> SEQ ID NO 29 <211> LENGTH: 1227 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Triticum aestivum <400> SEQUENCE: 29 cgatgatgac catggatctg attggaggat acgggagggc ggacgagcag gtggccatcc 60 aggaggcggc ggcggcgggg ctgcgcggga tggagcacct catcctgcag ctctcccgga 120 caggcaccag cgagagctcg ccggttgggt cgtcggaggc gccggagcag caggtggact 180 gccgggagat cactgatatg acagtgtcca agttcaagaa ggtgatttct atcctcaacc 240 accgcactgg ccacgccagg ttccggcgcg ggcctgtggt ggcgcagtcc cagggccccg 300 ccgtgtccga gccggcgccg gtgagggcgt cttcgtcgag gtccgtgacc ttggacttca 360 ccaaggcgtc ttctgggtac ggaaacgacg ctggcttcag cgtctcggcc gcgagctcat 420 ccttcatgtc gtcggtgacc ggtgacggga gcgtgtccaa cggacgcggg ggcgggtcct 480 cgctgatgct cccgccacta ccttcggcca gctgcgggaa accgccgctg gcgtcctccg 540 cggcatccac cggcgcgggt gccgggcaga aacgcaagtg ccacgaccac gcgcactccg 600 agaacgtcgc cggcggaaag tacggcgcct ccggtggccg ctgccactgc tccaagcgca 660 ggaagtcccg ggttcggcgg atgactcgcg tgccggcgat cagctcgaag gcagcggaga 720 tccccgcgga cgacttctcg tggcgcaagt acgggcagaa gcctatcaag ggctccccct 780 acccacgagg ttactacaag tgcagcacgg tgcgcgggtg cccggcgcgg aagcacgtgg 840 agcgcgaccc cagcgacccc tccatgctca tcgtgaccta cgaaggcgag caccggcaca 900 cccccgcgga ccaggagccg ctcgccccgc taccggagct ctgaaatctc tttgccatta 960 ccgtcgtcct cacatgttaa ttcaacttag cttgtcgcca tgttcccttc gttactgcta 1020 gctaccatat attactacta ataagcaagt agaatttctt tttcttttgg ccgcatcagt 1080 ttagtcgcac taagcatgtt gtaaaagaac aagtgtagtt ggaagctttg agctttgaag 1140 aagaaaaggt gcgtggtaga caagaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa 1200 aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaa 1227 <210> SEQ ID NO 30 <211> LENGTH: 313 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Triticum aestivum <400> SEQUENCE: 30 Met Met Thr Met Asp Leu Ile Gly Gly Tyr Gly Arg Ala Asp Glu Gln 1 5 10 15 Val Ala Ile Gln Glu Ala Ala Ala Ala Gly Leu Arg Gly Met Glu His 20 25 30 Leu Ile Leu Gln Leu Ser Arg Thr Gly Thr Ser Glu Ser Ser Pro Val 35 40 45 Gly Ser Ser Glu Ala Pro Glu Gln Gln Val Asp Cys Arg Glu Ile Thr 50 55 60 Asp Met Thr Val Ser Lys Phe Lys Lys Val Ile Ser Ile Leu Asn His 65 70 75 80 Arg Thr Gly His Ala Arg Phe Arg Arg Gly Pro Val Val Ala Gln Ser 85 90 95 Gln Gly Pro Ala Val Ser Glu Pro Ala Pro Val Arg Ala Ser Ser Ser 100 105 110 Arg Ser Val Thr Leu Asp Phe Thr Lys Ala Ser Ser Gly Tyr Gly Asn 115 120 125 Asp Ala Gly Phe Ser Val Ser Ala Ala Ser Ser Ser Phe Met Ser Ser 130 135 140 Val Thr Gly Asp Gly Ser Val Ser Asn Gly Arg Gly Gly Gly Ser Ser 145 150 155 160 Leu Met Leu Pro Pro Leu Pro Ser Ala Ser Cys Gly Lys Pro Pro Leu 165 170 175 Ala Ser Ser Ala Ala Ser Thr Gly Ala Gly Ala Gly Gln Lys Arg Lys 180 185 190 Cys His Asp His Ala His Ser Glu Asn Val Ala Gly Gly Lys Tyr Gly 195 200 205 Ala Ser Gly Gly Arg Cys His Cys Ser Lys Arg Arg Lys Ser Arg Val 210 215 220 Arg Arg Met Thr Arg Val Pro Ala Ile Ser Ser Lys Ala Ala Glu Ile 225 230 235 240 Pro Ala Asp Asp Phe Ser Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Pro Ile Lys 245 250 255 Gly Ser Pro Tyr Pro Arg Gly Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Ser Thr Val Arg Gly 260 265 270 Cys Pro Ala Arg Lys His Val Glu Arg Asp Pro Ser Asp Pro Ser Met 275 280 285 Leu Ile Val Thr Tyr Glu Gly Glu His Arg His Thr Pro Ala Asp Gln 290 295 300 Glu Pro Leu Ala Pro Leu Pro Glu Leu 305 310 <210> SEQ ID NO 31 <211> LENGTH: 1179 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <400> SEQUENCE: 31 gcacgagaag accctaccct ggggatgact ctaatgatga tgatgacttg gactcaaaac 60 gcaggaaaat ggaatctgct ggtatcgatg ctgctttgat gggtaaacca aatcgcgagc 120 cccgtgtcgt tgtacaaact gttagtgaag ttgatatctt ggatgatggg tatcgctggc 180 gcaaatatgg gcagaaagta gtgaaaggaa accctaaccc acggagttac tacaaatgca 240 cacatacagg atgcccagtc aggaaacatg ttgagagagc atcacatgac ccgaagtcag 300 tgatcacaac atatgaagga aaacataacc atgaagtccc tgcttccagg aatgcaagcc 360 atgagatgtc tgcagctccc atgaagccgg tggtgcatcc tattaacagc agcatgccag 420 gctttggtgg catgatgaga gcatgcgatg ccagggcctt caacaatcaa tattctcagg 480 cagccgaaag tgacaccatc agtcttgacc ttggtgtagg tatcagccct aaccacagcg 540 atgcaacaaa ccagatgcag ccctcagttc cagaacctat gcagtatcag atgcgacaca 600 tggctcctgt gtacggtagc atgggacttc caggaatgcc tgtgccagca atacctggca 660 gcatgtacgg ttccagagaa gaaaaaggaa acgaagggtt tactttcaaa gctgcacctt 720 tggaccgatc agctaactta tgttacagta gtgctggtaa cttagtgatg ggtccatgag 780 tgcctcttct gatggctata cctccatgaa tcacacctat caccgtcgtc atgaagttct 840 cttcagaaga tgctcctcta cttcgtatcg tccgcacata attggaggcg gtcaaggtat 900 acctgggagc tgcagcgatg gcacatgatg tcttttgctg tgtggatgaa ctcgctgtat 960 gtgacgctgc agctaaacat tcgttgtaca gcaaaccagt tatgattaat tagattatga 1020 taatttggtt atgtaaactt ctttctggac ataaccgaag agccatctgg tggcaaagct 1080 ttgttatctc ctgcatatga acgatgccag tttgacattc atatgaaatg aaatatatca 1140 tttcccaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaa 1179 <210> SEQ ID NO 32 <211> LENGTH: 258 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <400> SEQUENCE: 32 Thr Arg Arg Pro Tyr Pro Gly Asp Asp Ser Asn Asp Asp Asp Asp Leu 1 5 10 15 Asp Ser Lys Arg Arg Lys Met Glu Ser Ala Gly Ile Asp Ala Ala Leu 20 25 30 Met Gly Lys Pro Asn Arg Glu Pro Arg Val Val Val Gln Thr Val Ser 35 40 45 Glu Val Asp Ile Leu Asp Asp Gly Tyr Arg Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln 50 55 60 Lys Val Val Lys Gly Asn Pro Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr 65 70 75 80 His Thr Gly Cys Pro Val Arg Lys His Val Glu Arg Ala Ser His Asp 85 90 95 Pro Lys Ser Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr Glu Gly Lys His Asn His Glu Val 100 105 110 Pro Ala Ser Arg Asn Ala Ser His Glu Met Ser Ala Ala Pro Met Lys 115 120 125 Pro Val Val His Pro Ile Asn Ser Ser Met Pro Gly Phe Gly Gly Met 130 135 140 Met Arg Ala Cys Asp Ala Arg Ala Phe Asn Asn Gln Tyr Ser Gln Ala 145 150 155 160 Ala Glu Ser Asp Thr Ile Ser Leu Asp Leu Gly Val Gly Ile Ser Pro 165 170 175 Asn His Ser Asp Ala Thr Asn Gln Met Gln Pro Ser Val Pro Glu Pro 180 185 190 Met Gln Tyr Gln Met Arg His Met Ala Pro Val Tyr Gly Ser Met Gly 195 200 205 Leu Pro Gly Met Pro Val Pro Ala Ile Pro Gly Ser Met Tyr Gly Ser 210 215 220 Arg Glu Glu Lys Gly Asn Glu Gly Phe Thr Phe Lys Ala Ala Pro Leu 225 230 235 240 Asp Arg Ser Ala Asn Leu Cys Tyr Ser Ser Ala Gly Asn Leu Val Met 245 250 255 Gly Pro <210> SEQ ID NO 33 <211> LENGTH: 507 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(507) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: n = A,T,C or G <400> SEQUENCE: 33 ccccaagcca agatccgcgc gaagcaagtc acccggcgaa gcaccggctc ccatggccgt 60 ggacctgatg ggctgctacg ccccgcgccg cgccaacgac cagctcgcca tccaggaggc 120 ggcggcggcc gggctccgca acctggagct gctggtgacg tccctgtcca cgcaggccgc 180 cgcgccgcac agagccgctg atcagccgtt cggcgagatc gccggccagg ccgtctccaa 240 gttccgcaag gtcatctcca tcctcgaccg cacggggcac gcccgcttcc gccgcgggcc 300 cgtcgaagcc gccgccgccg acgccgccgc cgcctcctgt cgtccccggt cctgcccccc 360 tggcggncgt caagcgtggc gcagccgccg caagagcctg acgctggact tcacgaagcc 420 gaacctggcc gtgttcggnc gccacgtccg tcactccacg tccttcttct cgtcggtcaa 480 ggncggcgaa gggcancgtc tccaang 507 SEQ ID NO 34 LENGTH: 125 TYPE: PRT ORGANISM: Zea mays SEQUENCE: 34 Met Ala Val Asp Leu Met Gly Cys Tyr Ala Pro Arg Arg Ala Asn Asp 1 5 10 15 Gln Leu Ala Ile Gln Glu Ala Ala Ala Ala Gly Leu Arg Asn Leu Glu 20 25 30 Leu Leu Val Thr Ser Leu Ser Thr Gln Ala Ala Ala Pro His Arg Ala 35 40 45 Ala Asp Gln Pro Phe Gly Glu Ile Ala Gly Gln Ala Val Ser Lys Phe 50 55 60 Arg Lys Val Ile Ser Ile Leu Asp Arg Thr Gly His Ala Arg Phe Arg 65 70 75 80 Arg Gly Pro Val Glu Ala Ala Ala Ala Asp Ala Ala Ala Ala Ser Cys 85 90 95 Arg Pro Arg Ser Cys Pro Pro Gly Gly Arg Gln Ala Trp Arg Ser Arg 100 105 110 Arg Lys Ser Leu Thr Leu Asp Phe Thr Lys Pro Asn Leu 115 120 125 <210> SEQ ID NO 35 <211> LENGTH: 1072 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Helianthus annus <400> SEQUENCE: 35 aattcaagtt tatcagtgaa ctgaattgcc atctctcact cccttagtaa ccgccgcctt 60 catggtctca acaaccacca cccacaccac aatcgccaaa attgtagttg tcactcccac 120 catcataaac aatgttgtca ccgccacccc attttaacac gtttacaaac caatcatatc 180 tttaaaatct aaccccaaac aaagctacta ctcagcagaa gctgatcgag gagacaatat 240 atacctcaag gagtaaccta gctagaagct gatcaaagtt tcaccggaaa gcgagttttg 300 tcatatcttc ttgatatgtc gacgatgctg atactactca agatgtttaa ctaacggtgg 360 ctagaaaaat caaactaaca ggaaagtacg atggaccacg gaatggtggc gaattgatat 420 gctgcttgag ggttatgtca aagtgcaaac cgagcttggt ttgaaggagt gtcgacttta 480 tatatccgac tgctacacac tcagccttta caaaggtgaa aggagccaag ggaggggtat 540 tcaggcggtt tgaccatcaa caatataatc aattaaatca gggccgttcc atagattctg 600 gaggccctgt gccccatatg ttaattttta ctaggacgaa gtgtaatttc caaacaaata 660 gacctacgat gaagaaaata accaatgctt aaattatata ataaatacct tagctataaa 720 ataaccagac tttaattagt gaagaatgtt gataaaaaat agaaaatact ttcataaaaa 780 caaaattgag gaacaattgt gttaaattgt attaaatgaa atactaaagg gtaatatatg 840 taacatatct aactaccaac caaacacata agattcttcc ctacactcca ccacatccga 900 ttaccatttc tctcttcttc ttcttcttct tcgatccatc gttctccctt ttcctaaact 960 cgttacctct gctcaattct acactttttc ggtatccata cacagctcac cgctgatcaa 1020 cgcctcttat tttcactccg gcaccttcaa ttcaacccaa acgagtcaag cc 1072 <210> SEQ ID NO 36 <211> LENGTH: 36 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Artificial Sequence <220> FEATURE: <223> OTHER INFORMATION: A designed oligonucleotide based upon the adapter sequence and poly T to remove clones which have a poly A tail but no cDNA. <400> SEQUENCE: 36 tcgacccacg cgtccgaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaa 36 <210> SEQ ID NO 37 <211> LENGTH: 2208 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(6) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: 5′ cloning site (EcoRI) <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (7)...(14) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: cloning adaptor <221> NAME/KEY: 5′UTR <222> LOCATION: (15)...(358) <221> NAME/KEY: CDS <222> LOCATION: (359)...(2107) <221> NAME/KEY: 3′UTR <222> LOCATION: (2111)...(2190) <400> SEQUENCE: 37 gaattcggca cgaggtttcc gactcctttg ttctcttaag tgttcttggt tagtggaatg 60 gaagctcagc agccccattt atgcccccga gagcctcgtc gttcccctcg tgtgtaggtg 120 tagcctttca ctcggttggt ggaagggcga ggcacagaag aacatcgata aagggtgtgt 180 ctatttttta gctcttcgtg ttcttgtagg aggaattccc gttcacatga tccgtgcctg 240 tacctgacgg gccttgtcgc gctctgctgc ttcgctttcg gggagaggag gactcgactc 300 aaatcacttg gtagcggaga cgtcgccctt tctagttcag tcgagagata tttctggc 358 atg gcc ggc gca agc aac cat gga tcc ctc acc gac gaa tgg ttg ccg 406 Met Ala Gly Ala Ser Asn His Gly Ser Leu Thr Asp Glu Trp Leu Pro 1 5 10 15 ccc cct aca cca agc cca aga agt ctc gtg tca agc ttt ctg aat gaa 454 Pro Pro Thr Pro Ser Pro Arg Ser Leu Val Ser Ser Phe Leu Asn Glu 20 25 30 gaa ttc agc ccc ggg cca ttc tct ggt ctt ttc agt aaa cat ggc gcc 502 Glu Phe Ser Pro Gly Pro Phe Ser Gly Leu Phe Ser Lys His Gly Ala 35 40 45 aat aga ccc cat gat caa tcc gaa aag ggc aga gga gct ctg aat tcg 550 Asn Arg Pro His Asp Gln Ser Glu Lys Gly Arg Gly Ala Leu Asn Ser 50 55 60 agc gag gag ttc cct act cat gct gtc aaa gac cca ttt caa aag ggt 598 Ser Glu Glu Phe Pro Thr His Ala Val Lys Asp Pro Phe Gln Lys Gly 65 70 75 80 ttc tcc ctg gag cca aat ttg ttc agt gct aat cat ata tca aac tcc 646 Phe Ser Leu Glu Pro Asn Leu Phe Ser Ala Asn His Ile Ser Asn Ser 85 90 95 aat ggt ggt ttg gca gag cgc agg gct gca aga gca ggt ttc agt gtc 694 Asn Gly Gly Leu Ala Glu Arg Arg Ala Ala Arg Ala Gly Phe Ser Val 100 105 110 ccg aaa att gat act tct cga gtt ggt tca tca gca gtt att cga tct 742 Pro Lys Ile Asp Thr Ser Arg Val Gly Ser Ser Ala Val Ile Arg Ser 115 120 125 cct gtg tca att cca cct ggt cta agt cca act aca cta ctg gag tct 790 Pro Val Ser Ile Pro Pro Gly Leu Ser Pro Thr Thr Leu Leu Glu Ser 130 135 140 cct gtt ttt ctt tac aat aaa atg gca cag cct tct cca acc act ggc 838 Pro Val Phe Leu Tyr Asn Lys Met Ala Gln Pro Ser Pro Thr Thr Gly 145 150 155 160 acg ttg cca ttt ttg acg gct acg aat gat aag tcg aca ata cca cca 886 Thr Leu Pro Phe Leu Thr Ala Thr Asn Asp Lys Ser Thr Ile Pro Pro 165 170 175 gct acc aag ata act gaa gat tct gca gtt tat aat gat gtg ttt tct 934 Ala Thr Lys Ile Thr Glu Asp Ser Ala Val Tyr Asn Asp Val Phe Ser 180 185 190 ttc caa ccc cac tta ggt tct aaa gaa aca ggt ttc tct act gca gaa 982 Phe Gln Pro His Leu Gly Ser Lys Glu Thr Gly Phe Ser Thr Ala Glu 195 200 205 aag gac tat ggc gcc tat cag caa aag cat tca ttg tgg aat att cat 1030 Lys Asp Tyr Gly Ala Tyr Gln Gln Lys His Ser Leu Trp Asn Ile His 210 215 220 cag cag gaa tcc agt ctt cag tca agt ttt acc gca gtc aag gac aac 1078 Gln Gln Glu Ser Ser Leu Gln Ser Ser Phe Thr Ala Val Lys Asp Asn 225 230 235 240 act agt gca aca att ggt gaa acg aag aca tct agc tcc atg ttc agt 1126 Thr Ser Ala Thr Ile Gly Glu Thr Lys Thr Ser Ser Ser Met Phe Ser 245 250 255 gat agt cac tat tca gct gac caa cag caa ggt gaa gag aca aac atg 1174 Asp Ser His Tyr Ser Ala Asp Gln Gln Gln Gly Glu Glu Thr Asn Met 260 265 270 aag gag caa ggc aaa ggt gtc gag gct aga tca gct gct ttt ctt cct 1222 Lys Glu Gln Gly Lys Gly Val Glu Ala Arg Ser Ala Ala Phe Leu Pro 275 280 285 gca cca gtg cat aat gat gca tct ctc ctg gat tct caa gat gca gtt 1270 Ala Pro Val His Asn Asp Ala Ser Leu Leu Asp Ser Gln Asp Ala Val 290 295 300 gat gtc tcg tca acg ctg tct aat gaa gag gac gag agg gca aca cat 1318 Asp Val Ser Ser Thr Leu Ser Asn Glu Glu Asp Glu Arg Ala Thr His 305 310 315 320 ggc act gtt tct ata gag tgt gag ggt gat gaa gat gag act gaa tct 1366 Gly Thr Val Ser Ile Glu Cys Glu Gly Asp Glu Asp Glu Thr Glu Ser 325 330 335 aaa aga agg aag ttg gaa tta gat gct tta gga gct att gct att gct 1414 Lys Arg Arg Lys Leu Glu Leu Asp Ala Leu Gly Ala Ile Ala Ile Ala 340 345 350 act acc tcc acc acc agt acc att gac atg ggc cct gca tcc tca aga 1462 Thr Thr Ser Thr Thr Ser Thr Ile Asp Met Gly Pro Ala Ser Ser Arg 355 360 365 gct gtc cgg gag cct agg gtt gtt gtt cag acc aca agt gag gta gac 1510 Ala Val Arg Glu Pro Arg Val Val Val Gln Thr Thr Ser Glu Val Asp 370 375 380 att ctt gat gac ggt tat cgg tgg cgt aag tat gga cag aag gtt gtt 1558 Ile Leu Asp Asp Gly Tyr Arg Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Val Val 385 390 395 400 aag ggc aat cca aat cca agg agc tac tac aag tgt aca cac cct ggc 1606 Lys Gly Asn Pro Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr His Pro Gly 405 410 415 tgt tca gtg cgc aag cat gtg gaa aga gca tca cat gat ctg aaa tca 1654 Cys Ser Val Arg Lys His Val Glu Arg Ala Ser His Asp Leu Lys Ser 420 425 430 gtc atc aca aca tat gag gga aag cac aac cat gaa gtt cca gca gcc 1702 Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr Glu Gly Lys His Asn His Glu Val Pro Ala Ala 435 440 445 aga agt agt ggg caa ggc agt tct ggt tct ggc agc ggt cca tct gca 1750 Arg Ser Ser Gly Gln Gly Ser Ser Gly Ser Gly Ser Gly Pro Ser Ala 450 455 460 cca caa gct ggt ggt tct cac cgt agg caa gaa cct gca caa gcc agc 1798 Pro Gln Ala Gly Gly Ser His Arg Arg Gln Glu Pro Ala Gln Ala Ser 465 470 475 480 ttc gct cac ttt ggt aca tct cct ttc agc tcc ttc ggt ctc gca ccg 1846 Phe Ala His Phe Gly Thr Ser Pro Phe Ser Ser Phe Gly Leu Ala Pro 485 490 495 agc gga cag ttg gga cca aca act ggt aat ttc cgc ttc ggc atg gtt 1894 Ser Gly Gln Leu Gly Pro Thr Thr Gly Asn Phe Arg Phe Gly Met Val 500 505 510 ccg cca ggc gcg acg atc cca atg ccc tct cta gga tca ctt gcc cct 1942 Pro Pro Gly Ala Thr Ile Pro Met Pro Ser Leu Gly Ser Leu Ala Pro 515 520 525 aca aaa atg att gga aat cca tca gct atg cag ggg tac cca ggg ctt 1990 Thr Lys Met Ile Gly Asn Pro Ser Ala Met Gln Gly Tyr Pro Gly Leu 530 535 540 atg atg cca gga gag cca aag gta gag cct ttc tcg cga cca cac ttc 2038 Met Met Pro Gly Glu Pro Lys Val Glu Pro Phe Ser Arg Pro His Phe 545 550 555 560 cca acg tca att gca cct ccg cca gct tac caa cag ata ctg agc agg 2086 Pro Thr Ser Ile Ala Pro Pro Pro Ala Tyr Gln Gln Ile Leu Ser Arg 565 570 575 cct cct ttt ggt cat cag atg taaataatag gaaggggata gatttgcttc 2137 Pro Pro Phe Gly His Gln Met 580 ggcttgtata catgatagct acgctgcaac atggctttgt tctagttttg ttgaaaaaaa 2197 aaaaaaaaaa a 2208 <210> SEQ ID NO 38 <211> LENGTH: 583 <212> TYPE: PRT <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <400> SEQUENCE: 38 Met Ala Gly Ala Ser Asn His Gly Ser Leu Thr Asp Glu Trp Leu Pro 1 5 10 15 Pro Pro Thr Pro Ser Pro Arg Ser Leu Val Ser Ser Phe Leu Asn Glu 20 25 30 Glu Phe Ser Pro Gly Pro Phe Ser Gly Leu Phe Ser Lys His Gly Ala 35 40 45 Asn Arg Pro His Asp Gln Ser Glu Lys Gly Arg Gly Ala Leu Asn Ser 50 55 60 Ser Glu Glu Phe Pro Thr His Ala Val Lys Asp Pro Phe Gln Lys Gly 65 70 75 80 Phe Ser Leu Glu Pro Asn Leu Phe Ser Ala Asn His Ile Ser Asn Ser 85 90 95 Asn Gly Gly Leu Ala Glu Arg Arg Ala Ala Arg Ala Gly Phe Ser Val 100 105 110 Pro Lys Ile Asp Thr Ser Arg Val Gly Ser Ser Ala Val Ile Arg Ser 115 120 125 Pro Val Ser Ile Pro Pro Gly Leu Ser Pro Thr Thr Leu Leu Glu Ser 130 135 140 Pro Val Phe Leu Tyr Asn Lys Met Ala Gln Pro Ser Pro Thr Thr Gly 145 150 155 160 Thr Leu Pro Phe Leu Thr Ala Thr Asn Asp Lys Ser Thr Ile Pro Pro 165 170 175 Ala Thr Lys Ile Thr Glu Asp Ser Ala Val Tyr Asn Asp Val Phe Ser 180 185 190 Phe Gln Pro His Leu Gly Ser Lys Glu Thr Gly Phe Ser Thr Ala Glu 195 200 205 Lys Asp Tyr Gly Ala Tyr Gln Gln Lys His Ser Leu Trp Asn Ile His 210 215 220 Gln Gln Glu Ser Ser Leu Gln Ser Ser Phe Thr Ala Val Lys Asp Asn 225 230 235 240 Thr Ser Ala Thr Ile Gly Glu Thr Lys Thr Ser Ser Ser Met Phe Ser 245 250 255 Asp Ser His Tyr Ser Ala Asp Gln Gln Gln Gly Glu Glu Thr Asn Met 260 265 270 Lys Glu Gln Gly Lys Gly Val Glu Ala Arg Ser Ala Ala Phe Leu Pro 275 280 285 Ala Pro Val His Asn Asp Ala Ser Leu Leu Asp Ser Gln Asp Ala Val 290 295 300 Asp Val Ser Ser Thr Leu Ser Asn Glu Glu Asp Glu Arg Ala Thr His 305 310 315 320 Gly Thr Val Ser Ile Glu Cys Glu Gly Asp Glu Asp Glu Thr Glu Ser 325 330 335 Lys Arg Arg Lys Leu Glu Leu Asp Ala Leu Gly Ala Ile Ala Ile Ala 340 345 350 Thr Thr Ser Thr Thr Ser Thr Ile Asp Met Gly Pro Ala Ser Ser Arg 355 360 365 Ala Val Arg Glu Pro Arg Val Val Val Gln Thr Thr Ser Glu Val Asp 370 375 380 Ile Leu Asp Asp Gly Tyr Arg Trp Arg Lys Tyr Gly Gln Lys Val Val 385 390 395 400 Lys Gly Asn Pro Asn Pro Arg Ser Tyr Tyr Lys Cys Thr His Pro Gly 405 410 415 Cys Ser Val Arg Lys His Val Glu Arg Ala Ser His Asp Leu Lys Ser 420 425 430 Val Ile Thr Thr Tyr Glu Gly Lys His Asn His Glu Val Pro Ala Ala 435 440 445 Arg Ser Ser Gly Gln Gly Ser Ser Gly Ser Gly Ser Gly Pro Ser Ala 450 455 460 Pro Gln Ala Gly Gly Ser His Arg Arg Gln Glu Pro Ala Gln Ala Ser 465 470 475 480 Phe Ala His Phe Gly Thr Ser Pro Phe Ser Ser Phe Gly Leu Ala Pro 485 490 495 Ser Gly Gln Leu Gly Pro Thr Thr Gly Asn Phe Arg Phe Gly Met Val 500 505 510 Pro Pro Gly Ala Thr Ile Pro Met Pro Ser Leu Gly Ser Leu Ala Pro 515 520 525 Thr Lys Met Ile Gly Asn Pro Ser Ala Met Gln Gly Tyr Pro Gly Leu 530 535 540 Met Met Pro Gly Glu Pro Lys Val Glu Pro Phe Ser Arg Pro His Phe 545 550 555 560 Pro Thr Ser Ile Ala Pro Pro Pro Ala Tyr Gln Gln Ile Leu Ser Arg 565 570 575 Pro Pro Phe Gly His Gln Met 580 <210> SEQ ID NO 39 <211> LENGTH: 1026 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <400> SEQUENCE: 39 ggtccggaat tcccgggtcg acccacgcgt ccggtaacca tttaagactt gatgcagaca 60 ttgtactgaa ttcgctggta ctctttttca ggaagttgga attagatgct ttaggagcta 120 ttgctattgc tactacctcc accaccagta ccattgacat gggccctgca tcctcaagag 180 ctgtccggga gcctagggtt gttgttcaga ccacaagtga ggtagacatt cttgatgacg 240 gttatcggtg gcgtaagtat ggacagaagg ttgttaaggg caatccaaat ccaaggtcac 300 actttcacta ccatttctta cactaaatga ctaaactgta tccctccatc ccctgaagct 360 agtaacattg attcacttgc atgcaggagc tactacaagt gtacacaccc tggctgttca 420 gtgcgcaagc atgtggaaag agcatcacat gatctgaaat cagtcatcac aacatatgag 480 ggaaagcaca accatgaagt tccagcagcc agaagtagtg ggcaaggcag ttctggttct 540 ggcagcggtc catctgcacc acaagctggt ggttctcacc gtaggcaaga acctgcacaa 600 gccagcttcg ctcactttgg tacatctcct ttcagctcct tcggtctcgc accgagcgga 660 cagttgggac caacaactgg taatttccgc ttcggcatgg ttccgccagg cgcgacgatc 720 ccaatgccct ctctaggatc acttgcccct acaaaaatga ttggaaatcc atcagctatg 780 caggggtacc cagggcttat gatgccagga gagccaaagg tagagccttt ctcgcgacca 840 cacttcccaa cgtcaattgc acctccgcca gcttaccaac agatactgag caggcctcct 900 tttggtcatc agatgtaaat aataggaagg ggatagattt gcttcggctt gtatacatga 960 tagctacgct gcaacatggc tttgttctag ttttgttgat ggatcgtccg atttttaaaa 1020 aaaaaa 1026 <210> SEQ ID NO 40 <211> LENGTH: 893 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <400> SEQUENCE: 40 ccggaattcc cgggtcgacc cacgcgtccg gcatcacatg acccgaagtc ggtgatcaca 60 acatatgaag gaaaacataa ccatgaagtc cctgtttcca ggaatgcaag ccatgagatg 120 tccacagctc ccatgaagcc tgctgtgcat cctattaaca gcaacatgcc aggccttggt 180 ggcatgatga gagcatgtga tgccagggcc ttcaccaatc aatattctca ggcagctgaa 240 agtgacacca tcagtcttga ccttggtgta ggcatcagcc ctacccacag cgatgcaaca 300 aaccaaatgc agccttcagt tccagaatct atgcagtatc aaatgcaaca catggctcct 360 gtatatggta gcatgggact tccaggaatg cctgtgacag cagtacctgg aaattcggct 420 agcagcatat acggttctag agaagaaaac ggaaatgaag ggtttacttt caaagccgca 480 ccattggacc gatcaactaa cttatgttac agtagtgctg gtaacttagt gatgggtcca 540 tgagtgtctc tgctgatggt catacctcca tggagcacat attaccgtaa tcatgaagat 600 tgcttcagaa ggtgctctac tgtgtatcgt catccacaca taattgaatc ggaggtggtc 660 aaggtatacc tgggagctgc agcgttgaca catgagcctt ttgctgtttg gatgtacact 720 tgctgtatgt gacgctgcag ctcaacattc gttgtacagc aaaccagtta tgattaatta 780 gattctgata atttggttat gtaaacttct ttctgtactg gaatatggga tagaaccaaa 840 gatccgtctg gtggcaaagc tttgttatgc cctgcaaaaa aaaaaaaaaa aaa 893 <210> SEQ ID NO 41 <211> LENGTH: 626 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <400> SEQUENCE: 41 ccacgcgtcc gctggccgtg tcgggcggcg ccacgtccgt cacctccacg tccttcttct 60 cctcggtcac ggccggcgag ggcagcgtgt ccaagggccg cagcctggtg tcctccggca 120 agccgccgct gtccggccac aagcggaagc cctgcgccgg cgcgcactcc gaggccacca 180 ccaacggcag ccgctgccac tgctccaaga gaaggaaaaa ccgcgtgaag aggaccatca 240 gagtgccggc gatcagcgcc aagatcgcgg acatcccgcc ggacgagtac tcgtggagga 300 agtacggcca gaagcccatc aagggctccc cctacccacg gggctactac aagtgcagca 360 ccgtgcgcgg gtgcccggcg aggaagcacg tggagcgcgc caccgacgac ccggccatgc 420 tggtggtgac gtacgagggc gagcaccgcc acacgccggg cgcgcccgcg cccgcgccca 480 gccccctggc ggccgcgtcg ccggtgcccg cctccgccgc cgccgccgtc tccgccggca 540 acaacgggct tgtctagtct agagcctagg attagcttct tcgttcttca ttttgagctg 600 atccccaccg ctcgatctga cgcccg 626 <210> SEQ ID NO 42 <211> LENGTH: 559 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <220> FEATURE: <221> NAME/KEY: misc_feature <222> LOCATION: (1)...(559) <223> OTHER INFORMATION: n = A,T,C or G <400> SEQUENCE: 42 ccacgcgtcc gcccaattct cctcaatcaa agaaagtccc cacgcagagc aagccaagat 60 ctgcgccgcg gcgaagcaaa tcaaagcaaa gcaaagcaaa gcaccggctg gctcccatgg 120 ccgtggacct gatggggtgc tacgccccgc gccgcgccaa cgaccagctc gccatccagg 180 aggcggcggc ggcggggctc cgcagcctgg agctcctcgt gtcgtcgctg tccacgcagg 240 ccgccgcgcc gcacagggcc gcggctcacc agctgcagaa gccgccttcg cagccgccga 300 tcggcgagat cgccgaccag gccgtctcca ggttccgcaa ggtcatctcc atcctggacc 360 gcaccggcca cgcccgcttc cggcgcgggc ccgtggtcga ggcgccgcca ccggtgcctc 420 ctccgggcgt ctccgctcnc gctctccccg tggcgcacgt ggtggctccc gtcggcgcgg 480 cgcagcccca gagcctgacc ctggacttca cgaagccgaa cctggccgtg tcgggcggcg 540 ccacgtccgt cacctccac 559 <210> SEQ ID NO 43 <211> LENGTH: 1129 <212> TYPE: DNA <213> ORGANISM: Zea mays <400> SEQUENCE: 43 gcacgagccc caagccaaga tccgcgcgaa gcaagtcacc cggcgaagca ccggctccca 60 tggccgtgga cctgatgggc tgctacgccc cgcgccgcgc caacgaccag ctcgccatcc 120 aggaggcggc ggcggccggg ctccgcaacc tggagctgct ggtgacgtcc ctgtccacgc 180 aggccgccgc gccgcacaga gccgctgatc agccgttcgg cgagatcgcc ggccaggccg 240 tctccaagtt ccgcaaggtc atctccatcc tcgaccgcac ggggcacgcc cgcttccgcc 300 gcgggcccgt cgagccgccg ccgccgacgc cgccgccgcc tcctgtcgtc cccggtcctg 360 cccccctggc ggccgtcagc gtggcgcagc cgccgcagag cctgacgctg gacttcacga 420 agccgaacct ggccgtgtcg gccgccacgt ccgtcacctc cacgtccttc ttctcgtcgg 480 tcacggccgg cgagggcagc gtctccaagg gccggagcct catgtcctcc gggaagccgc 540 cgctgtctgg ccacaagcgg aagccctgcg ccggcgccca ctccgaggcc accaccaacg 600 gcagccggtg ccactgctcc aagagaagga agaaccgcgt gaagaggagc atcagagtgc 660 cggcgatcag ctcgaaggtc gccgacatcc cgccggacga gtactcgtgg aggaagtacg 720 gccagaagcc tatcaagggc tccccttacc cacgtggcta ctacaagtgc agcactgtgc 780 ggggatgccc ggcgaggaag cacgtggagc gggccaccga cgacccggcc atgctggtgg 840 tgacgtacga gggcgagcac cgccacacgc cgggcgcggt ccaggggccg agccccctgg 900 cgaccgcgtc gccggtgccc gtcgccgtct ccgccggcaa cgggctcgtt gtctagtcta 960 ctaaaagcta ggattagctt ctcgtcttct ttgttttttt tttgtttgag ctgatgtccg 1020 tgtaaaacaa ggaagaaggt tgtagaaaga gggagaggag gacaccggaa tttcgatgcc 1080 gcaaaactca aacctttgtg tcgtgtccta aaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaa 1129 

What is claimed is:
 1. An isolated polynucleotide comprising a member selected from the group consisting of: a) a polynucleotide having at least 75% sequence identity to a polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43; b) a polynucleotide having at least 80% sequence identity to SEQ ID NOS 29; c) a polynucleotide that hybridizes under high stringency conditions to a polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43; and d) a polynucleotide complementary to a polynucleotide of (a) through (c)
 2. A vector comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 1. 3. A recombinant expression cassette comprising the polynucleotide of claim 1 operably linked to a promoter, wherein the nucleic acid is in sense or antisense orientation.
 4. The recombinant expression cassette of claim 3, wherein the promoter is selected from the group consisting of a tissue-preferred promoter, a constitutive promoter, and an inducible promoter.
 5. A host cell comprising the recombinant expression cassette of claim
 3. 6. A transgenic plant comprising the recombinant expression cassette of claim
 3. 7. The transgenic plant of claim 6, wherein the plant is maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice, barley, and millet.
 8. A transgenic seed from the transgenic plant of claim
 6. 9. An isolated protein comprising a member selected from the group consisting of: a) a polypeptide comprising at least 75% sequence identity to a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 32, 34, and 38; b) a polypeptide comprising at least 80% sequence identity to SEQ ID NO: 30; c) a polypeptide encoded by a polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, and 37; and d) a polypeptide characterized by a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, and
 38. 10. A method of modulating the level of WRKY protein in a plant, comprising: a) introducing into a plant cell a recombinant expression cassette comprising a WRKY polynucleotide of claim 1 operably linked to a promoter; b) culturing the plant cell under plant growing conditions to produce a regenerated plant; and c) inducing expression of said polynucleotide for a time sufficient to modulate the WRKY protein in said plant.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plant is maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice, barley, and millet.
 12. An isolated polynucleotide comprising a polynucleotide having at least 90% sequence identity to a polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, and
 43. 13. A vector comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 12. 14. A recombinant expression cassette, comprising the polynucleotide of claim 12, operably linked to a promoter, wherein the nucleic acid is in sense or antisense orientation.
 15. The recombinant expression cassette of claim 14, wherein the promoter is selected from the group consisting of a tissue-preferred promoter, a constitutive promoter, and an inducible promoter.
 16. A host cell comprising the recombinant expression cassette of claim
 14. 17. A transgenic plant comprising the recombinant expression cassette of claim
 14. 18. The transgenic plant of claim 17, wherein the plant is maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice, barley, and millet.
 19. A transgenic seed from the transgenic plant of claim
 17. 20. A method of modulating the level of WRKY protein in a plant, comprising: a) introducing into a plant cell a recombinant expression cassette comprising the polynucleotide of claim 12 operably linked to a promoter; b) culturing the plant cell under plant growing conditions to produce a regenerated plant; and c) inducing expression of said polynucleotide for a time sufficient to modulate WRKY protein in said plant.
 21. An isolated polynucleotide comprising a member selected from the group consisting of: a) a polynucleotide that encodes a polypeptide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 2, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, and 38; and b) a polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NO: 1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, and
 43. 22. A vector comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 21. 23. A recombinant expression cassette comprising the polynucleotide of claim 21 operably linked to a promoter, wherein the polynucleotide is in sense or antisense orientation.
 24. The recombinant expression cassette of claim 23, wherein the promoter is selected from the group consisting of a tissue-preferred promoter, a constitutive promoter, and an inducible promoter.
 25. A host cell comprising the recombinant expression cassette of claim
 23. 26. A transgenic plant comprising the recombinant expression cassette of claim
 23. 27. The transgenic plant of claim 26, wherein the plant is maize, soybean, sunflower, sorghum, canola, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, rice, barley, and millet.
 28. A transgenic seed from the transgenic plant of claim
 26. 29. A method of modulating the level of WRKY protein in a plant, comprising: a) introducing into a plant cell a recombinant expression cassette comprising the polynucleotide of claim 21 operably linked to a promoter; b) culturing the plant cell under plant growing conditions to produce a regenerated plant; and c) inducing expression of said polynucleotide for a time sufficient to modulate WRKY protein in said plant.
 30. An isolated transcriptional region that is capable of driving transcription in a plant, wherein the transcriptional region comprises a polynucleotide selected from: a) a polynucleotide driving expression of a WRKY polynucleotide, wherein the WRKY polynucleotide is a polynucleotide having 90% identity to a polynucleotide selected from the group consisting of SEQ ID NOS: 1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43; b) a polynucleotide driving expression of a WRKY polynucleotide, wherein the WRKYpolynucleotide is selected from SEQ ID NOS: 1, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43; c) a polynucleotide comprising at least 20 contiguous nucleotides of the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 35; d) a polynucleotide that hybridizes under highly stringent conditions to the sequence set forth in SEQ ID NO: 35; and e) a polynucleotide having at least 90% identity to SEQ ID NO:
 35. 31. A method of regulating transcription of a heterologous nucleic acid comprising the steps of: a) introducing into a plant cell the polynucleotide of claim 30 operably linked to a heterologous nucleic acid; b) culturing the plant cell under plant growing conditions to produce a regenerated plant; and c) inducing expression of the heterologous nucleic acid.
 32. A vector comprising the polynucleotide of claim
 30. 33. A recombinant expression cassette comprising the polynucleotide of claim 30 operably linked to a heterologous nucleic acid.
 34. The recombinant expression cassette of claim 33, wherein expression of the heterologous nucleic acid increases resistance to plant pathogen.
 35. A transgenic plant comprising the recombinant expression cassette of claim
 33. 36. An isolated transcriptional region that is capable of driving transcription in a plant, wherein the transcriptional region comprises the polynucleotide shown in SEQ ID NO:
 35. 37. A method of regulating the SA-dependent SAR response in a plant comprising the steps of: a) introducing into a plant cell a recombinant expression cassette comprising the polynucleotide of claim 1 operably linked to a promoter; b) culturing the plant cell under plant growing conditions to produce a regenerated plant; and c) inducing expression of said polynucleotide for a time sufficient to modulate the SA-dependent SAR response.
 38. The method of claim 37, wherein the polynucleotide is shown in SEQ ID NO:
 1. 39. The method of claim 38, wherein the polynucleotide is in the antisense orientation. 